Harry Potter and The Heir of Slytherin
by E.N Lance
Summary: The second story in the series of 'The Fight of Two Generations'. As the title might suggest, this is an AU representing J.K Rowling's series Harry Potter. Harry's first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was an eventful one. Will this year be any better with a medusa copycat and stalking elf, not to mention a sinister agenda by their Defence teacher? HARMONY
1. Chapter 1 : Summer

Author's Note: I don't own the story or the characters of Harry Potter, this work is entirely fan-made. The rights to everything Harry Potter belong to J.K Rowling.

And we are back ladies and gents and anyone in between. 'The Heir of Slytherin' is my interpretation of the Chamber of Secrets in this AU. The Chamber of Secrets is personally the most underrated film out of the original series. I loved it as a kid and it was just the right amount of scary and awesome to an arachnophobic, 9 year old me.

Just a Disclaimer: If you have not read my first story in the series 'Harry Potter and the Fight of Two Generations', I highly recommend reading it before this one. The Heir of Slytherin is the second in the series and the FOTG has many answers for questions newcomers might have, if they haven't read that before this.

Without any more hesitation, here is the start of 'The Heir of Slytherin':

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The start of summer was a slight drag. Harry had to go to the Dursley's on the 15th of July and his time with Hermione was cut short. The two had both recently started to admit to their true feelings towards each other, between the random bouts of teasing from Zoe. Hermione was steadily becoming a more confident and stable person, now that there wasn't a blond Hitler youth spouting anti-muggle-born propaganda or a red-head constantly tormenting her about her knowledge every day. Harry thought that she was the most interesting person in the world, and he wouldn't let anyone say otherwise. Harry had asked the Grangers if they would like to come to the zoo, whilst the Potters were visiting their Aunt and Uncle for Dudley's birthday party. His birthday had actually been on the 23rd of June, but Vernon and Petunia wanted to wait for Harry and Zoe to be there for their only cousin's birthday celebration.

So the Potters and Grangers arrived at the muggle zoo and waited for the Dursleys, who were running late as Dudley needed a lie-in on his birthday; it was tradition after all. The silver Mercedes parked next to the white Volkswagen Golf that Drs Granger and Granger owned, the colour was simply a coincidence, nothing to do with the white teeth in their Profession. Whilst the 'ordinary folk' caught up and met each other, Harry ran to Hermione, but just embraced her; he was smart enough to realise that Hermione's parents and his own were there. They looked into each others' eyes as if to say "Yeah. We really need to tell them soon." It was obvious to them what the other was saying, but to Dudley and Zoe, all they saw was a longing twinkle in their eyes, glinting in the sun.

The first animal to look at was the elephants, which had no direct parallel in the wizarding world, like some regular animals that adapted due to Darwin's theory of evolution, except the animals adapted to magic. The beasts were spectacular, gargantuan creatures to the muggles and were heralded as one of, if not the, most recognisable animal in the world. Never-the-less, all were still fascinated by the elephants, just like they were with the monkeys. The monkeys were supposedly highly-intelligent creatures and were seen as the human race's closest ancestors. Yet all the people saw were the primates eating fruit and swinging on ropes put in the habitat to keep the animals active. Hermione was still leading the group and nearly wearing everyone out with all the information she had memorised and read from the boards around the habitat.

The rhinoceros were similar to the magical beasts called erumpents, aside from the minor detail that when a rhinoceros jabbed its horn into something like wood, the wood would not bubble like a kettle and combust into tiny fragments and fibres. The magical folk were comparing the rhinos immediately to the horned erumpents, but Zoe told them to stop, as they were creatures after all, not art pieces to gawk at. This comment Hermione greatly appreciated, even though she had read through 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, by Newt Scammander' a few dozen times and couldn't help comparing them in her head too. After a spot of lunch in the café near the cat cages, as Dudley called them, the entire group headed over to the reptile house in search of some cold-blooded amphibians.

The bottom floor was completely filled with frogs of nearly every type and distinction, while the top floor showed off the more dangerous animals. The crocodiles had massive, pearly whites in their jaws and yet somehow were Dudley's favourite animal, even though Dudley was probably a crocodile's favourite meal. Petunia pointed this out and it made Dudley shiver just thinking of the most painful ways to go, a crocodile dinner being very high on the list. He waddled off towards the snakes, his favourite being a Python and rapped on the glass with his knuckles. Others started to join in on Dudley's behaviour, but the portly boy stopped and walked over to the vipers instead. More children started to disperse, but one stubborn boy kept his knocking on the glass up. This made Zoe angry and Harry had to calm her down by confronting the young boy.

"Hey, kid. I think the snake is quite tired at the moment, maybe you should stop tapping the glass?" Harry asked, a hint of malice that went unnoticed reflected in his voice. "No. Snake must do a trick for Sammy!" The apparent 5-year-old shot back, his tone as harsh as a shredder. Then Harry caught the snake's eye, it glinted black in hate for the younger boy. "I tell you what Sammy. If I get the snake to wave at you, will you leave it to sleep?" Harry asked innocently, no idea of a plan in his head if the boy answered 'yes'. "Sure, that's a trick isn't it?" The boy agreed back. Harry looked at the snake and spoke what he thought was English to the serpent. To everyone else who was listening, it sounded like a strangled 'hiss' and looked like Harry was conducting a ritual, as he was not taking his eyes off the cold-blooded animal_. "Hello. I know you want to sleep, I can see it in your eyes. Can you wave your tail at the arrogant child over there? Do it, and he'll leave, I promise you."_ Harry hissed at the snake, hoping the boy didn't know what arrogant meant. It responded in a haughtily way by shaking its tail at the boy and nodding along with it.

This all happened so fast that Mr and Mrs Granger asked Hermione if it was normal to see him conversing in a snake language. Hermione, out of words, simply shook her head in awe, while Lily and James looked at each and then at Zoe, with terrified looks. The rest of the trip went by just as the first half had, slow, but this time, a silence, not easily broken by the Potters bar Harry hung above them all like a stubborn storm without the thunder. The formalities were exchanged by the adults without a mention of Harry's ability and the three families headed home by separate means, by car and by using apparition. James was the first one to break the cruel tension and ask "Harry, do you know what you just did? You spoke to a snake." Harry nodded along, not seeing his father's issue with what he did. "Yeah. I told it that the kid would back off if it reacted to his demands. What's the big deal?"

Zoe cut in, "Harry. Being a Parselmouth isn't a common ability, you should know that by now. It was utilised by some of the Darkest and some of the most misunderstood people in the wizarding world's history." Harry marvelled at the fact that he had a rare ability, that even his parents didn't know of. Even Merlin himself was thought to have been taught some Parseltongue by Salazar Slytherin, during his time at Hogwarts. Some of the greatest dark wizards had also used the ability to reign destruction down upon civilisations by commanding basilisks. Harry's family's reputation could suffer for this, so he asked Zoe and owled Hermione the same plea "Please don't reveal my ability as a Parselmouth, it could hurt the family's reputation greatly."

Hermione didn't need to reply to Harry as he knew that she would do as he asked. It was the most sensible thing to do. The secret would ideally, be taken to the grave. The end of August was coming up and Hogwarts was due to start in a little over a week. This meant only one thing, a trip to Diagon Alley. The four Potters climbed into the fireplace, one after the other had gone and dropped the dusty, emerald powder. They spoke the words "Diagon Alley!" and felt themselves being squeezed through the floo network, coming out of the other side and landing either gracefully in Lily and James' case, or in a heap on the floor, which happened to the children. The two youngest went first and on the other end were pulled up by none other than Rubeus Hagrid. The large half-giant heaved them up using one hand and set them down on the cobbled path, feet on the ground this time.

"Ello Arry, Zoe. You alrigh'? Ye took a nasty tumble there, ye gotta get better a' landing after ye come shootin' out the other side. Don' worry, ye'll get the hang of it." The man said after hoisting up the two. James came landing out a couple of seconds later and Lily a further few after him. James thanked him for catching the two before they ran off. "Thanks, Hagrid, these two can never stick their landing properly. What have you got there?" he gestured to the bag he was holding in his large, clenched fist. He replied nervously "Oh jus' a few things for Professor Dumbledore an' some flesh-eatin' slug repellent for the school mandrakes, they're gettin' holes all over their leaves." The Hogwarts game-keeper left and headed for the barrier between the Leaky Cauldron and the alley itself. They all watched him curiously; he was acting a bit more strange than his usual happy self.

They all went to Gringotts first to get some money to pay for expensive school supplies. On the book list this year, a few odd titles stuck out to them, all written by the same dazzling man on the cover of them, Gilderoy Lockhart. As the Potter family headed to Flourish and Blotts to buy the books, they ran into the Grangers and saw the Weasleys not too far off in the shop, Arthur chatting fascinatedly to Dan Granger about 'fellytones'. Harry responded first by gripping Hermione in a hug that she had invited him and Zoe into. The Potter children hugged back, yet Harry held on for a little longer, being the source of Hermione's happiness at the moment. The two mothers smiled knowingly at the behaviour and didn't bother correcting the children on proper etiquette. Zoe also smirked at this and knew more teasing about them being together was surely headed their way.

James Potter was not as subtle though and clapped Harry on the back congratulating him whilst saying "I knew it was true what your Grandpa said, 'The Potter men always go for the brainy ones, son'." Harry and Hermione turned red at that comment, blushing profusely from every cell in their bodies. Mrs Granger managed to stop laughing for a second to stabilise herself like Zoe and Lily couldn't before saying "Let's go find Dan, he's in the book shop somewhere talking to a red-head about phones. We still need to get your books Hermione." All six entered the packed shop and were blinded by the camera flash reflecting off something. When they managed to see again, without seeing spots, they saw the source, a man behind the counter, with perfect white teeth, a grin to match and locks of shining gold.

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I know, I know, 'Lockhart is an incompetent fool and shouldn't be the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher'. But you see, that's the beauty of being wrong here. Lockhart is incompetent at his job, but he is actually a formidable enemy. He is a gifted wizard, just not an honest and selfless one. You'll see what I mean in later chapters.


	2. Chapter 2 : Gilderoy Lockhart

Author's Note: I don't own the story or the characters of Harry Potter, this work is entirely fan-made. The rights to everything Harry Potter belong to J.K Rowling.

Thanks for the review bones71 'Okay I actually squealed in delight when I got a notification for this story. So happy to be back in 2nd year with you again. Brilliant start to this year as per usual. See you next chapter.' This means a lot and I know you are a loyal fan of the story, so thanks for sticking with it.

Thanks for the reads on the first chapter. In case you haven't noticed, I have made an effort to lengthen the chapters from the first chapter of 'The Heir of Slytherin'. This is so that the words can be expressed better and the scenes can be more descriptive, instead of trying to cram lots of bad paragraphs into a thousand words. The word count on each chapter is now more or less 2000 words plus the Author's Notes.

Anyway, enough of my rambling, here's chapter 2.

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All of the women in the room, besides most wearing a wedding ring, were swooning at the dashing man, even Hermione had to hide her squeal of delight upon seeing the man. Every man in the room wanted to be him, regardless of whether they were married, apart from two people, James Potter and Sirius Black, who had come purely to see the show. They both guffawed at the sight of every man looking in envy and every woman in desire. Though when Gilderoy Lockhart began to speak, Hermione felt out of the trance and furrowed her eyebrows, thinking of something. She raised them, turned to face Harry and whispered: "He's a fraud, I have memorised every one of his defence strategies in his books and he just butchered all three of them at once! He said in 'Gadding with Ghouls' that his offence strategy was a run, blast and stun combination with a bunch of acrobatic moves at the end, to supposedly distract any dazed attacker. He just explained that his defence strategy was that, using a magical creature to ride on and using a cutting hex, all at once."

Harry gawked at her. How had she been able to listen to all of that, memorise it and recall exact bits of information at a time? Then he remembered not to question it, as she was Hermione, the smartest witch of the time. "So, you're over him then?" Harry asked, in a joking tone, hoping secretly that her answer was saying yes, as she had him instead. Her answer was surprisingly close. "No, I was never with him in the first place, so how could I get over him. I have you, and that's enough for me. I only have eyes for you Harry Potter." It seemed she was smitten, much to Harry's delight. They had been talking through the presentation and Mr Lockhart had been eyeing them closely, saddened that he had lost a fan and a young, impressionable one at that. He decided to draw the young man away to gain more publicity, after all, the Boy-Who-Lived was in the bookstore and on the day he happened to present his books no less.

"Merlin's beard, Harry Potter." He said, using his best acting skills to pretend he hadn't seen him over 5 minutes ago. The cameraman who was taking pictures of Lockhart had pulled him up to the front desk of the book store and readied his camera. Hermione watched as Lily pulled out her wand and cast a spell. The camera zoomed into her hand and the cameraman pressed down on the flesh of his hand, not realising that the machine had gone. Harry smiled and held back a laugh, whilst wrenching himself from the vice-like grip of Gilderoy Lockhart. Everyone watched on in awe as Lily dropped the camera and resisted the blonde man's charm, just as impressive as a man resisting a Veela. Lockhart spluttered out in protest of her actions, somehow keeping his smile as dazzling as before "Mrs Potter, you want a picture too? I am sure you of all people I can make an exception for, come here and we'll take a photograph with your son." Her eyes narrowed to dark slits and everyone could sense the anger radiating off her body in waves of rage.

"No, we'll take our books and I'll pay you extra to stay away from my family-", she looked over at the quivering blonde wizard who was eyeing Hermione "and their friends. Don't come anywhere near us." She finished, took the two stacks of books, shrunk them and placed them in her pocket. She chucked the correct amount of galleons at the counter and beckoned for the children to leave before her. Hermione's parents had already paid and Dan had finished his chat with Arthur Weasley long ago, so they left hurriedly afterwards. James looked at his wife, still impressed that she had kept her fiery spirit after leaving Hogwarts and congratulated her. At that moment, Sirius chose to walk out of the shop and start bowing towards Lily, saying "I'm not worthy of your presence, o lady with words as searing as dragon-fire." James guffawed at this and joined in with it. Lily liked that James had retained some semblance of maturity, but this wasn't one of those times. She blushed and ordered in a mock tone of regality "Rise good sirs. The man was simply deranged, thinking he can touch the Prince and his Lady." Zoe and the Granger parents howled with laughter and doubled over in hilarity.

Harry and Hermione stood there, a bright red blush covering both of their faces, but understood the joke and good-naturedly laughed along with the others. When the humour had died down slightly, the Potter's, Sirius and Hermione stood up with attention and looked as though they had spotted a Dark Lord. Alas, it was only the Malfoys that were ambling out of Flourish and Blotts. Draco stuck his chest out and made a perfect imitation of his father, just with slightly more hair product and shorter stature. Narcissa looked like she had a constant sour face from eating a lemon, but kept her chin up to look better than the eight people standing in front of her. She glared at her cousin Sirius and stopped right in front of him, as the Malfoy men sized up James and Harry respectively. "Hmm. And I thought you could sink no lower James. Muggles, correct?" James nodded but stood his ground against Lucius. "And your family, fraternising with them too, I thought you couldn't get any more repulsive." Draco sneered at them all and said to the Grangers "You had better keep an eye on your dirty spawn muggles. She might just be a target for 'unsavoury' groups."

Harry stood next to his father, displaying his Potter family robes like him and kept his face impassive. That was until Draco insulted Hermione. Then it was open season and since they were in a magical area full of wizards without the trace, underage magic was basically undetectable. Without a second thought, Harry lashed out, not thinking of a spell, but shooting a beam of silver light at Draco. The charm he sent was a tickling charm, but it sent him flying back as well. Everyone but the Granger parents looked at him strangely as he fell backwards into a pile of stacked cauldrons. His mother rushed over to his side and Harry simply stood there, bewildered at what he had done. Lucius seemed to be- for once in his life- lost for words, as even he didn't know what had happened. Draco suddenly burst out laughing, despite a small knock to the head, as the tickling charm took effect. He writhed in forced delight and just laughed until his mother lifted the curse with a flick of her wand.

James took the whole family and the Grangers home by using the floo network in the Leaky Cauldron. They all felt the feeling of being squeezed and contorted for a second and then they appeared, one-by-one on the old mat that the Potter's had used to keep the wooden floor clean. Lily went off to make dinner for everyone, sensing correctly that a father-to-son talk was coming. Emma Granger went off as well and Dan Granger left with nothing to do, and 'went to the toilet'. Lily's assumption was correct and a 'talk' ensued between Harry and James, with Hermione standing close by, next to the warming fire.

"You can't just attack people who insult your friends Harry-, no offence to Hermione. Especially when those people just so happen to be in the Minister's inner circle of donators and advisors. We're lucky that they don't press charges after what you did. Granted, none of us adults actually knew what charm you performed to have both throwing and tickling effects, but that could have been any spell." James calmed down and stopped when he saw that Harry's face had remained as angry as it had been when he attacked the spawn of the Malfoy clan. He started to talk, with much more authority than he thought possible. "You don't get it, do you, dad?! That stupid, pompous, stuck-up arsehole didn't attack my friend." Hermione's eyes grew with surprise and slight sadness as she stood in the kitchen, listening in on the conversation. She also realised that her father had finished going to the loo to distract himself. Dan now stood 5 feet from Harry as he glared down at the boy for saying that his daughter wasn't his friend. Harry's next words stopped him from strangling the boy then and there.

"Hermione is more than a friend, more than anyone. She means the entire world to me, and she doesn't even know to what extent. Neither do you. She has been there for me, through thick and thin, and hasn't once been harsh or rude or untrustworthy, when she probably should have. I love her, from the bottom of my heart and she is worth even killing that ferret or anyone for that matter." James' eyes were so wide and full of tears. Of happiness or of horror, he didn't know, but he knew one more thing now, his son had grown up and was now standing up for the one that he had poured his entire heart out to, unknowingly.

Those words were so poignant to Dan Granger, so he rushed up to the boy in front of him, and Harry braced himself. All he felt were two arms resting around his back and then let go. Dan had started to walk towards him, intent on giving them his blessing, but Hermione beat her father to the chase and ran up to Harry, who relaxed noticeably in her arms. James sat on the chair and offered Dan a drink of Ogden's best Firewhisky. "Thank you. For everything, your boy has done absolute wonders for Hermione. This must stay between us unless Hermione wishes it, but she was horribly ridiculed when she was in school- the one before Hogwarts that is. Her classmates tormented her by saying she looked like a rabbit because of her front teeth and people in class hated her for being what they called a 'teacher's pet'. I think it means that she was smarter than them and answered questions better and faster than them. But now, having Harry and Zoe in her life, she seems more like the little girl who I held at the hospital in 1979. So for that, thank you." Dan said, with tears of what was definitely joy this time.

James was stumped at his friend's honesty and was ashamed that he once wanted someone else for Harry. It was tradition to make betrothal contracts in some families and this family didn't tolerate it. Harry's father realised as soon as he met Hermione that cancelling a betrothal contract for him was the single greatest idea at that point. When Harry and Hermione had a noticeable connection on King's Cross in November, James had cancelled a prepared betrothal contract. He hadn't yet decided the witch who would be the future Mrs Potter, but none of it mattered because his son's heart was taken. Since the conversation that the two were having got quite heated, Emma and Lily had both heard the news, with the former being overjoyed like her husband and Lily smiled gently at the two soon-to-be second-years. From that point, at every moment possible, one would not be seen without the other as they were attached at the hip. Harry didn't need the Mirror of Erised this time, as the woman he had the deepest desire for, was standing in the living room, clutching him in a tight embrace, refusing to let go.

* * *

I told you all, did I not? Harmony is coming to the series, OFFICIALLY! This reveal from Harry was a long time coming, so I hope this satisfied the needs of the Harmony fans and made Ronmione fans pissed to all hell. The spell that Harry used was in fact a combination of the first two spells that he and Draco cast in the duelling club in second year, so it fits to have Draco be hit with both, especially as he gets more and more chances to either redeem himself or become more like a member of a wizarding KKK (like his father).


	3. Chapter 3 : The Order

Author's Note: I don't own the story or the characters of Harry Potter, this work is entirely fan-made. The rights to everything Harry Potter belong to J.K Rowling.

Thanks to all that read the first 2 chapters. It means a lot that people have either continued reading from 'The Fight of Two Generations' or started reading this story.

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The next four weeks before Hogwarts were gruelling, after Harry and Neville's birthdays of course. The two honorary brothers shared very close birth dates, only being separated by a couple of hours at the most. So, as great friends now, they held a party together to celebrate them both in a glorious fashion. The entire extent of their family was there. Neville's grandmother had organised the celebration and also told Neville that she and the other parents had to meet about a Hogwarts board matter, so she left the children alone for a bit. Harry, Neville and Hermione weren't really the social butterfly types, so the boys had only invited very close friends. This meant that when Harry disappeared under his cloak to check on the adults, he was noticeably gone as a significant amount of the party-goers had left visible sight. Several minutes after Harry's departure, Zoe followed the only route out of the room that wasn't to the back garden.

Harry crept on silent feet and traipsed up the stairs of the Longbottom manor. The room that was occupied and locked was oddly not silenced, so Harry could hear every single word of the conversation. This was unusual as unless someone wanted to be heard they would silence the door. The only reason Harry could come up with is that someone had forgotten to, as Dumbledore surely wouldn't. Harry pressed his ear harder against the wooden door because Dumbledore had just spoken up "Order of the Phoenix annual meeting for the protection of wizarding Britain." Harry assumed he was writing up the agenda for the meeting and wanted a record of what people said. "The first order of business, to attend to the security of the students of Hogwarts. What measurements should be taken to ensure their safety?" The first person to speak up was Harry's Uncle Moony. "Well for starters, don't make an almost public announcement that a powerful magical artefact is in fact within the walls of the castle. Voldemort was able to pose as a Professor as well, so why don't we bump up the security. Station Aurors and guards at the entrances and exits to the castle. They should be trained in unnoticeable diagnostic charms and revealing spells to check for contraband items and dark magic."

Several people, including the distinct agreement of his mother and father, were heard by Harry from the other side of the dark wood. This was seemingly a majority vote and soon Dumbledore was heard saying his agreements and his measures for this: "Very well, I shall contact the M-O-M Auror department after the proceedings. This shall hinder my plans for an army against Voldemort though, I can't form an alliance under Fudge's nose. He will think I am plotting to take over the ministry. We shall cross that bridge when we come to it. Next item: the next teacher for Defence Against the Dark Arts. I have seen only one applicant for this role, Gilderoy Lockhart. He shall fit the position very well due to his extensive background knowledge in wandless, dark and defensive magics. Any objections?" Only three objections were heard, one from Sirius, one from James and one of course, from Lily. The latter started her rant about the blond man."Dumbledore, you can't seriously be thinking of this. He is nothing more than an obnoxious pretty-boy, yet you think he will be suitable above others who have had decades of training. He has only mentioned in his books that he has been 'demolishing evil since 1989'. He can't be allowed to teach impressionable kids that need to have a proper lesson in defensive magic, especially with only 3 years of supposed expertise!" She finished with a thick layer of sweat on her forehead and a husband calming her down, although he agreed with every statement, as did Sirius.

The room had gone silent at Lily's heroic outburst and a scrawny, bald man in a brown waistcoat and jacket had even started to cower behind Augusta Longbottom. No one would dare to defy Dumbledore, except those, it seemed who had almost an ounce of sense and concern for the schooling of their children. The old wizard held up his hand to relieve the tension in the room, showing that he wasn't hostile and spoke in a gentle voice that reverberated across the room "My dear Lily, what do you have against the man other than his supposed lack of educational prowess?" She answered with a slight stammer before her words "He isn't the right sort of person to be interacting with children. If I hadn't taken the camera off a Daily Prophet photographer, Harry and Hermione's faces would be all over the blasted paper. He quite literally yanked Harry to the front of the shop and tried to hold him against his will there, until he was no longer profitable for the day I'm sure. Now you want him to be around not only my children but hundreds of other people's as well, just where he could manipulate them and for lack of a nicer word, groom potential money-makers until he has them under his spell. It also doesn't help that nearly every witch under the age of 20 in that store couldn't resist drooling over the man." Lily panted as she was out of breath from ranting for the second time in 10 minutes.

Even Dumbledore was surprised that she had this much breath in her lungs to breathe. His eyes then relaxed and twinkled with promise. Harry could now see this and wanted nothing more than to rush in there and bash the old fart's head in. It turned out that Zoe had turned up and managed to find Harry under the cloak and stop him from pulverising Dumbledore. "Very well, I shall put forward your complaints with him towards the school board and they alone shall decide what his status at Hogwarts is, celebrity or teacher. In the meantime, I have one more pressing issue to discuss. Sybil Trelawney. She has a seer as a relative and as you know, she is the divination teacher at Hogwarts. She made a prophecy of sorts 12 years ago to this day. I have only recovered one line from it, but it is one needing urgent action."

He recited the one line he was willing to share, as it could be misinterpreted the most out of any part of the prophecy. "the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies." James, Lily and Augusta were standing, with either a tear of sadness or of condolence in their eyes, neither knew which. The gravity of this sudden happening hit the watching Harry and Zoe like a bombarda to the chest. Either Harry or Neville would be counted on to save the wizarding world from Voldemort. The two parents and the grandparent of the ones concerned sat silently whilst Dumbledore consoled them, but they were strong and so were their boys. They all felt the weight on the shoulders of Harry or Neville steadily increase further, more so than it was a burden before.

Harry and Zoe sat outside the door, the sister holding the brother as he slumped to the floor, the weight of the world on his back and the concerns of the adults weighing it down further until he was nothing more than a crumpled heap, sobbing into the silence of a privacy ward erected by Zoe. This was more than a 12-year-old should have to handle, even when it was imperative that they did handle it. Harry suddenly stopped and made to move back against the door, when the handle shook and out rumbled a herd of adults, including one Mad-Eye Moody, whose magical eye caught sight of what he thought to be the shimmering outline of an invisibility cloak. On further inspection, there was nothing there, as the children had shuffled out of sight again.

Harry got up and made sure that the elders were gone, then left to tell Neville and Hermione what they had heard, under another privacy ward in Neville's room. After the door was firmly sealed with a nauseating squelch, they burst out with the information to Hermione and Neville. Surprisingly, Neville seemed more at peace with the possibility of the burden than Harry but did have to take a few agonizing moments to come to terms with it. "Born as the seventh month dies" Hermione repeated, over and over until it was ingrained in their heads. "You're sure that it means one of you two? I mean, not that I'm questioning your honesty but there must be a billion wizards in Britain that were born at the end of July." Zoe rightly pointed out that the prophecy implied one of them, as their parents were informed first and it was clearly stated that it was made 12 years ago. "We can't let this get to our heads, we can't let it affect us and our work". Neville stated, impressively, considering he was one of the two concerned.

Their immediate plan was to be against the Order of the Phoenix. The parents hadn't told them about this and the group was mortified by having one of them face Voldemort when he had many decades of duelling, killing and dark magic practice under his belt. This spurred them to create an impromptu association. The Rogue Society, for those against the Order of the Phoenix and with an ultimate endgame of wiping out Voldemort and the Death Eaters from the face of the earth. This group was so far made up of exclusively the four children in the know about the prophecy. Harry James Potter, the supposed Boy-Who-Lived and the founder of the Rogue Society. Zoe Potter, the genius of magical creatures and charms. Neville Longbottom, the quirky Gryffindor with a heart of pure lightweight gold. Hermione Granger, the brightest witch of the generation and the most skilled transfiguration artist of her age. The group was set to expand, bringing large amounts of people from Hogwarts in on the goal, mainly from Ministry backed families and those with an alliance to the two houses already in the group, being Potter and Longbottom.

Many of the Heirs of wizarding families were eager to join after Owl upon owl was sent to people. Two people were close friends from Hogwarts and belonged to the house of humble Hufflepuff. Susan Bones was highly regarded in the eyes of the 4, not just due to her auntie's connections in the M.O.M, but because she had stood by them during the Pureblood uprising in the previous Hogwarts year. The Bones' were also part of the uprising against Voldemort before the Order of the Phoenix; Susan's parents were part of the Order but had joined the ministry instead in order to better protect their daughter. This came to no avail though, and they had been killed by Voldemort for supporting the two sides opposing him and his regime.

The next person to reply was Cedric Diggory, a fifth-year Hufflepuff who was as Zoe stated "Tall, handsome and brainy", though Hermione didn't say she thought the same thing, as Harry was in the room when his owl arrived. His letter said that he was happy to join the alliance, which was great, considering he would know a smattering of more-advanced spells than the 4 second-years put together. This would certainly be of benefit later down the line because they were planning on joining the duelling club that was to start this year, due to the mass outcry over the whole 'possessed teacher tries to murder 11-year-old' situation. It would also prove helpful when humiliating Draco Malfoy in said duelling club when he would inevitably call out Harry and Neville for their 'misconduct in a wizards duel' last year. Cedric was also part of the few that supported the muggle-borns and half-bloods last year when the race superiority scandal broke out, showing that he was a true Hufflepuff and friend, loyal and trusting.

The last few people that they had sent owls carrying invites to hadn't replied yet, and they would approach some of them carefully since 1 of them was a Slytherin named Daphne Greengrass, who was the so-called 'Ice Queen of Slytherin House' despite her only being the same age as the 4. Her family had been sent an alliance request during the previous Voldemort dilemma in the 70s and 80s by the Potters and the Longbottoms themselves, but they had stayed neutral to avoid any conflict whatsoever. It was on the 30th of August that Cedric's letter had arrived, so it was probably best to get the other replies at Hogwarts in 2 days.

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I know it is slightly cliché to have Daphne Greengrass in stories these days, or at least she is in a lot of the ones I read. However she is basically the perfect character for fic writers. She isn't built upon much in the books and has really interesting directions that her character can go in. She has a slightly more famous/infamous sister and she herself didn't have much more mention anyway, as the Cursed Child is basically at the same level as some of the fics on this site and NOT the good ones!


	4. Chapter 4 : A Visit From Two Nuisances

Author's Note: I don't own the story or the characters of Harry Potter, this work is entirely fan-made. The rights to everything Harry Potter belong to J.K Rowling.

Thanks for the continuous support not only on this story, but the previous instalment in 'The Fight Of Two Generations' series.

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The day for returning to Hogwarts had crept up to the four Gryffindors rapidly since Cedric's letter had arrived on the 30th. After last year's fiasco of nearly being late and having to use the floo at the last minute, the entire family knew to get up and wake up earlier. This time the wait was agonising, as the children had understood the message of 'Get up earlier' as get up at 9:00 in the morning. Harry's morning was started by a quiet crack and a screech of an owl called Hedwig. Harry scrambled to put his glasses on from his bedside table and grabbed his wand, feebly waving it around for the intruder. He looked up from his bed and found a house-elf with bulging tennis-ball shaped eyes and what appeared to be a pillowcase wrapped around its shoulders. "Hello. Dobby didn't mean to startle Harry Potter but Harry Potter must be warned not to go back to school. Hogwarts is a dangerous place it is this year and Harry Potter would be in grave danger if he goes back. You must not go back to Hogwarts this year, a plot to ruin Harry Potter and Hogwarts is at play, Dobby mustn't say any more but you must listen to Dobby."

The little house-elf blurted out so many words that Harry's head was spinning by the time he had finished and was waiting for Harry's answer. "Dobby, was it?" The elf frantically nodded his head up and down in respect for the great wizard. "You must understand that I have to go back. Hogwarts is where my friends are. It is where I must learn things to be able to fight and go places in the world. My school is where I belong at this time of year." Harry replied defiantly. The small creature shot back "No you must not go to Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry this year. A terrible conspiracy has arisen and it threatens the great Harry Potter's life and the lives of many other great witches and wizards." Harry shook his head and marvelled at the situation. He again was to be part of a great mess at school this year. Was the new DADA teacher going to try and kill him, or maybe the Headmaster thinks it a good idea to once again hide a large Cerberus behind an easily unlockable door. "Dobby, go back to your masters now, you can't stop me going to Hogwarts. I don't want to have to hurt you, especially since for one thing, my sister would kill me and for another, I am not allowed to use magic outside of school." The elf disappeared from sight with a crack again, sounding even harsher than the first.

Zoe peeked through the door for the third time to see if the elf had gone from Harry's room and walked in when she knew Harry had gotten rid of it. "What an interesting start to the morning. A house-elf shows up and demands you don't go back to school. What could ever go wrong this year." Zoe asked the last question sarcastically. Harry replied back with a yawn "I don't know but from the sounds of it, my reputation and some students lives are on the line. Do you reckon that we tell the Society?" That was a good question. After all, the Rogue society was meant to be a team, where they worked together. "I think we should tell them, at least Hermione and Neville. Not sure if I fully trust all of them yet. It could prove to be something that helps us out: maybe one of them knows who the elf is and who their master is or maybe they know what the conspiracy is." Zoe said back, suppressing a yawn herself. "Come on, lets got our trunks down and some breakfast in us. Zoe swept from the room and told Harry to get dressed and gather his things.

Sidera perched on top of the cage and hooted in annoyance at Zoe's absence. The witch fed her owl and coaxed her back into the cage, where she would have to wait until Hogwarts to be stretching her wings again. As smart as owls were, they couldn't answer Zoe's constant questions such as 'How will we get put in danger this year?' or 'Are we going to have to fight a troll again?'. She gathered her own trunk and wheeled it downstairs. Harry was already waiting for her, probably because he had taken so long trying to think of answers to all of her questions. James and Lily awoke at 10:00 to find the kids' rooms devoid of children and the trunks with them. The parents walked groggily downstairs to find, for once, the children cooking breakfast. Harry was busy at the stove with bacon and eggs, whilst Zoe grabbed plates, napkins and glasses for the people to eat and drink from. James was already rushing to get dressed and eat, much like his son would on the weekends if he was up early enough. Lily followed suit but didn't forget to put a jacket on, like James had, despite the freezing temperatures. He was seated at the oak table on the chairs lined with permanent cushioning charms, awaiting the hearty breakfast before him.

Harry and Zoe had done this a few times before, on special occasions like birthdays, anniversaries and Mother's and Father's day. This was a rare occurrence, to say the least, but the adults didn't realise it was to break some news, one specifically about a house-elf. James was halfway through finishing a beautifully cooked egg when Harry broke the good mood. He said, "I got a visit from a particularly loud house-elf this morning." His father spluttered and nearly choked on his mouthful of food. He would have too if Lily hadn't known the throat-unblocking spell "Anapneo" which cleared his airways at once. She was equally as stunned but wasn't eating like a ravenous, starving vulture, so didn't choke. She simply asked, "What did it want?" which Zoe answered. "It warned Harry that some more shenanigans are going to happen at Hogwarts this year. We think it is best to just ignore it. It can't get any worse than last year." While that fact was true, Lily was starting to trust Albus Dumbledore even less each week. This paired with the Lockhart debacle was quite a lot of stuff piled on top of the Philosopher's stone conflict last year. She wasn't sure how Dumbledunce was still in the positions he was in the Wizengamot and at Hogwarts.

They merely left the conversation at what Zoe said, and put it up to a prank by one of the Slytherins. The concealment spell that James erected under their brooms as they flew kept the family well hidden and the four Potters flew over London and to King's Cross Station. This was Harry's preferred method of travel as it gave him a chance to see the views. Zoe loved the feel of riding a broomstick as if she was a bird or a muggle aircraft that could see everything and go anywhere. This is why she had brought her own broom from home this year. She was going to try out for the Gryffindor quidditch team, as one of the substitute chasers had left last year. They only had one other sub chaser and needed a backup, in case the team faced off early in the year against the brutal Slytherin team and Captain, Marcus Flint. While lost in thought about flying, a flock of birds nearly crashed into them and the boys had to split off from the girls. When regrouping with his mother and sister behind his father on his broom, Harry thought he saw a flash of a long pointy ear and heard a sharp crack, when they were passing over a building. 'That couldn't have been Dobby, could it?' he thought as his father and mother both pushed their brooms into a descent in an alley near the station.

Thanks to the muggle-repelling charms that James had cast around the family, any muggle who got too close would remember that they dropped something behind, whether they had or not. This made the trip through the station easy, and the barrier was just a few metres away in a few minutes of jogging. James and Harry took a run through at the barrier, Harry clutching his owl cage and shrunken trunk. WHAM! They both collided with the bricks between platforms 9 and 10 with a colossal crunch of their two pairs of glasses. Lily and Zoe would have guffawed if they hadn't been so worried. The two women ran over to pick their family up, and Zoe rapped the bricks with her knuckles. Solid, rigid, thick, use any word synonymous with tough, the wall was it. The barrier had sealed shut, for the first time in recorded history, that didn't have a student jinx the wall. James looked frantically at his watch, it was now 10:50. In under 10 minutes, the Hogwarts Express would be leaving the station for Hogwarts. It took him 7 minutes to dismantle the solid amount of jinxes and hexes plaguing the wall, with several more wizarding families queued up behind the Potters. 'That stone was enchanted by something other than a human' James thought as they pushed through the wall.

Everyone rushed through the barrier and bade goodbye to their kids. James and Lily resized the trunks and the two Potter children found the compartment they were looking for, after boarding with 2 minutes to spare. Hermione chastised them for being late and Neville slapped them on the back while holding back a laugh at their predicament. The train let out a tremendous whistle, signalling its departure from London, and just on cue, the platform full of parents started waving back at the children leaning out of the windows. Once again, in a matter of minutes, the train was whizzing through country lanes, on its way to Hogwarts carrying a batch of new and returning students. Zoe and Harry started to explain the house-elf situation after saying proper hellos. Hermione sat on the seat next to Harry and memorised the information, trying to decipher the tiny creature's words. Neville meanwhile listened and tried to think of who the elf was and what its magical powers might have done to the Potters that morning.

About halfway through the ride to the esteemed castle, a red-head approached the door and asked if she could come in. The only person that the four had expected to come in with ginger hair was Susan Bones to discuss the Society. It was Ginny Weasley though, and she looked a bit distressed. She spoke in a quivering voice to Harry "Have you seen Ron, I haven't seen him since I got through the barrier? I thought he might have gone to sit with his best friends, but apparently not." She sported a look that was as accusing as her mothers at times, and Harry had to stop it. "Why would he sit with us, he's not our best friend, never was, never will be. No, we haven't seen him and would you for the love of Merlin stop staring at me!" Ginny did flinch but retained her gaze on Harry. She spoke back with a little hint of malice to her voice, "Harry, there's no need to shout at me, I just want to see your scar, considering how legendary it is. How you are." She had heard such a line like that on one of those rubbish teen drama tapes that her dad watched on his fellytision in their garage. Harry spoke back in a commanding tone "Ginny, was it? We're going back to your compartment and you are going to sit with your brothers and stop bothering me." Harry walked to the compartment, but on the way needed the toilet. He stopped at one of the extension-charm affected bathrooms and told Ginny to go back to her brothers. She waited outside for Harry instead.

Whilst Harry was in the toilet, he just wished he could look less appealing to Ginny like Dudley would, just for a minute so that he could avoid her. At that moment, he walked out of the stall and looked in the mirror, shocking himself in the process. He looked exactly like Dudley did that summer, with the portly stature and greasy, black hair. The weight threatened to burst out of his school jumper, but just about held. His metamorphmagus powers had kicked in after the small bits of practice from books. He could avoid the fiery-haired witch and go back to his compartment without hassle. He strode out of the bathroom to find Ginny still there, waiting for him. She walked up to him and Harry concentrated on keeping his form for a while longer. She started "Have you seen my boyfriend Harry Potter in there? He should be out soon." Harry internally gave a victory screech at his disguise working and shook his head at the first-year. She went back to leaning on the wall next to the door and Harry tried not to run with excitement back to the compartment. He came in, closed the door and turned back into himself in a matter of 5 seconds, to the bewilderment of the occupants.

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Aha, gotcha. You thought I had forgotten about Harry's Metamorphmagus abilities, but nope. I still want to use them sparingly since he hasn't gained full control of them yet but they will not be forgotten(hopefully!) More on the fangirl: Ginny Weasley next chapter. Don't worry, whatever, happens, Harmony for Life. Another note is that the Ron-bashing will diminish slightly this year, but he will still be the Ron we know and occasionally love.

The Weasley family in my view (from best to worst) go like this: Bill, Arthur, Fred+George, Charlie, Ron, Ginny, Percy, Molly. The twins I love equally and the reason for Molly and Percy being so far down is: a) The Goblet of Fire and later because Percy is a pompous ass b) Molly I have plans for that involve a certain message to someone. In later chapters and stories, you will know what I mean.

Also the spelling of Dumbledore in the fifth paragraph is completely intentional, it is a play on words: Dunce and Dumbledore


	5. Chapter 5 : Barring Barriers

I don't own the story or the characters of Harry Potter, this work is entirely fan-made. The rights to everything Harry Potter belong to J.K Rowling.

Thanks for your continuous support on the series.

Uploads may start to happen less often as I have exams soon and need to practise/revise for them. I will most likely start to upload every week, if possible at all at that interval.

And for anyone affected by the COVID-19 (Coronavirus), my heart goes out to you in this stressful time.

Neville spoke up first for the rest of the people in the compartment, "Bloody hell Harry, don't scare us like that". Harry sat down, laughing his head off his shoulders and Neville joined in soon after. In a short while, Hermione and Zoe saw the hilarity in it and good-naturedly laughed along with the boys. Harry explained what had happened from the moment he thought about looking like Dudley and all three Gryffindors listened, intent on finding out what had caused his shift into Dudley's figure. The thought along with the desperation seemed to be the only factors of his form shift, so he tried a smaller change this time, turning his eyes blue from his usual emerald. Much to Hermione's disappointment, it worked and Harry's eyes now shone with a blue hue as bright as the sky outside, in stark contrast to his deep, shimmering green like normal. His hair was the next test to conduct, by trying to turn it brown and shorter than his regular, messy style. It was also a success, as the hair turned a deep brown, like Hermione's and got as short as Neville's.

Before trying to do anything more drastic than a facial change on purpose, a loud voice came booming through the carriages like a foghorn. "A note to all passengers, there is only one hour of our journey left to Hogsmead Village. A reminder to the first-years aboard, you need to wait by Professor Hagrid for your trip up to the castle. He will be waiting for you on the right side of the train as you depart. Thank you, that will be all". Hermione, as intuitive as ever recalled the only two pieces of important information from the announcement. The time to get to Hogwarts and the half-giant Hagrid's new title as Professor. They all couldn't wait to see Hagrid again and congratulate him on completing his degree as a teacher, even without having a wand to teach, but that didn't matter as he was only teaching Care of Magical Creatures. As the castle grew nearer with every minute, the boys gave Hermione and Zoe some time to change into school uniform and they then repeated the same courtesy for Harry and Neville. Zoe took this opportunity to embarrass Hermione without facing her brother's wrath, by saying "I don't want to hear of any funny business this year with you and Harry in broom cupboards alright"? She said this whilst hiding a snicker of amusement at her own words. Hermione blushed deep red but knew Zoe was only making a silly joke.

When they were allowed and the boys were decent, Zoe walked in wearing a smug look and Hermione right behind her, a bright red tinge covering her face. Harry asked what Zoe had done this time, as it was obvious that she had done something to make Hermione's face redder than a ripe tomato. "Ok Hermione, what did she say this time"? Zoe put on a face of mock offence and wore it like a badge of honour. Hermione replied quietly to Harry only, as Neville would likely laugh at them. To her surprise, Harry guffawed at this and said simply "Hermione, that's only if you want to make light of that fact, besides no one actually thinks that two second-years know where every broom cupboard in the school is". Neville could gather some of the whispers but only the ones that said broom cupboards and funny business. This made Zoe give the rest of what she had said, and Neville too was then on the floor, clutching his sides out of mirth. Hermione knew what a good-natured jest was, and this was a prime example. She also knew what subliminal messaging was, and this was it, clear as the sky was blue.

The rest of the ride to Hogwarts consisted of them all discussing what classes would be like this year, especially with a new DADA teacher. Even when disembarking the scarlet steam-engine, the four still discussed the subjects they were looking forward to most. Neville was excited to study more exotic plants and fungi in herbology, especially after Professor Sprout had quickly become friends with Neville talking over his work in the exam. Zoe still looked forward to Transfiguration with the Lioness of Gryffindor, Professor McGonagall, mainly due to the fact that she had been researching advanced transfiguration theories in detail over the summer. Hermione was ready for the year of new charms and new knowledge to absorb. Harry was the only one not too pleased beyond new things to learn about. The house-elf had been in Harry's room that morning to deliver an important message to him, not the actual things he said, but what had been meant by the words. There was now a conspiracy against him, for the second time in his life. That was two more than he should ever have to experience. Yet here he was, being targeted by more people who wished him, a 12-year-old, harm.

Upon arrival at the village of Hogsmeade, everyone on the train got off and the porters busied themselves with unloading the various trunks and pets. Harry dragged himself out of his own thoughts to stare at the magnificent creature in front of the carriages, tethered to the vehicles. They were black, skeletal and strangely gentle-looking. He must have been staring quite intensely at a seemingly empty spot in front of the carriages because a girl wandered up to him and asked "You can see them too, can't you? The thestrals. They only appear to people who have seen death. Who have you watched pass"? Harry just nodded at the first question but answered the second with a distant voice "The Defence against the dark arts teacher last year. He died, as a murderer possessing his body moved out and let him suffer. I couldn't stop it". The girl was still looking absently at the thestrals and said "Don't worry, the pain and the torment will pass in time. I should know. My mother died when I was very little. A spell of her own creation backfired and she died in my father's arms. It gets better. Don't worry, you're just as sane as I am".

With that parting statement, she skipped off towards the boats, where she barely made it into a boat containing Ginny Weasley and two other girls. Harry marvelled at her cavalier attitude to death and got on the thestral-drawn carriage. Harry clambered into a seat next to Hermione and Zoe. Neville was surprisingly sat between Susan Bones and Cedric Diggory. "Hi Cedric, Susan. Forgive my asking, but why are we sat in the same carriage?" Cedric opened his mouth to answer but Susan beat him to it. "We are obviously here because of the alliance and to formally agree to join the Society". Harry beamed at this. "And your answer Cedric, formally?" The boy pondered jokingly first and stuck his hand out "Formally, Yes". The carriages bucked and the students belonging to all years above the first were whisked off to the castle. Before heading into the Great Hall, there was a 5-minute window for people to wait for the boats to arrive. Several people came up to Harry and Neville, to meet them as friends or as allies in the Society. Cho Chang walked up to Harry and Neville to accept the invitation and before walking off, gave Cedric a nervous wave, which he returned graciously.

It seemed like the first-years were ready to be sorted, meaning that all students that were second-year or above took their seats in the Great Hall at their house tables. The door swung open with vigour, likely Hagrid or magic's work and in strolled Professor McGonagall, with about 50 children tailing her. She repeated the process from last year and read out all of the names on her list one by one. One of the first people to be sorted was a short, blond boy named Colin Creevey. He walked up to the stool and excitedly placed the hat on his head. He looked a bit too small for it, considering the fact that he couldn't see with it on. The hat seemed to deliberate for only a second, before shouting "GRYFFINDOR" and then Colin proceeded to give the hat back and run over to the clapping lions. He enthusiastically said "Hiya Harry!" and blinded Harry by taking a picture of him, causing Harry to cover his eyes. McGonagall berated him for taking pictures too soon and told him to sit down.

A short while later, the Scottish Deputy-Headmistress asked for "Lovegood, Luna?" The girl from by the carriages who noticed the thestrals walked up to the stool and the transfiguration professor let the hat sit firmly on her head. It had barely been one moment before it said loudly "RAVENCLAW!". Luna went to sit with her new house, but some people moved away from her as she sat down, as if she were a virus that could be caught. Harry heard a boy down the table from Luna say "Well, that's great, first Gryffindor get Granger and Potter and now we get stuck with 'Loony Lovegood'. That's hardly fair!". Harry made a mental note to send that guy an itching hex on his rear when he could get away with it. A small smattering of people applauded Luna, including the Potters, Hermione and Neville. No Ravenclaws clapped for her apart from Cho Chang and a few other girls recently sorted. She didn't seem to notice it and still looked like her semi-normal, distant self.

Right at the end of the list was Ginny Weasley, Ronald's brother and the first-year dating Harry Potter, according to anyone who would listen to ramblings when coming out of the guys toilet on the train. The fiery-haired girl was no exception to the wrath of Harry Potter, or Hermione Granger, for that matter. She skipped up to the stool, confident that she would be with her brothers, at least, three of them that was. The hat seemed to frighten the little girl from the looks of it, presumably from what the hat said to only her inside her head. 'You have your heart set on one person Ginevra Weasley, but be warned, carry on the path you are on, and he will not take kindly to you. You have many trials and tests in your life, yes, I can see that now. Bravery and courage run deep in your family, well, your father's side at least, so I warn you, your house reflects your father's traits, not your mother's" the old hat said, warningly. To everyone in the hall, it said "GRYFFINDOR" and she skipped happily to sit next to Fred and George, who both hugged her. No-one but Hermione saw the look the hat shot Ginny after she sat down, one of warning with narrowed eyes.

When there was no-one else left to sort into houses, the feast began after some more random brain-babblings from Dumbledunce. The food was plentiful and scrumptious as normal and had the first-years drooling from the sight of it. This included Ginny, who had never seen so much food in her life, even living at the Burrow, where Molly was trying to stuff them like Christmas turkeys. Taking note of the number of red-heads this year, Zoe noticed that minus the two siblings just sorted that were fair gingers, only four red-heads were present in the Great Hall. Ronald was no-where to be seen. However, that would have been a small problem, had the boy in question not just driven past the windows of the Great Hall in a _flying _Ford Anglia. The majority of the hall was shocked to see a turquoise object hurtle past the window and everyone looked to see what it was.

A few moments later, a colossal crunch was heard and the car had disappeared from view of the stained glass. Hermione pointed out correctly that the sound they heard was wood, crunching under the force of a likely muggle-contraption. The Headmaster and Deputy Headmistress ran out of the hall, surprisingly fast for their supposed old-age, and sprinted to the source of the deafening sound that roused the students enjoying their feast. The culprit indeed was a red-haired, red-faced Ronald Bilius Weasley.

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Got to be honest, the reason for Ron still driving the car to Hogwarts is simply, he is Ron. He forgets stuff all the time, so he forgot something and had to go back to the car. When the barrier seals itself after James and the others go through before Dobby seals it again, he gets stuck and impulsively goes straight to the car. I would have put this in the chapter but it really isn't necessary to the plot and we are **not** going into Ron's point of view.


	6. Chapter 6 : Of Lions and Ferrets

I don't own the story or the characters of Harry Potter, this work is entirely fan-made. The rights to everything Harry Potter belong to J.K Rowling.

So I didn't plan on this being out for a couple of days, as I would have had exams to revise for and coursework to complete. However, under certain _viral _circumstances, GCSE's, A-Levels and other examinations like SATs have been cancelled for this summer. Since I live in one of the affected European countries and therefore am not doing my exams, I **should **have more time to write and be more frequent than planned.

Once again, to anyone affected by the global COVID-19 Virus, I wish you all safety and care whoever you are. Hopefully I can relieve some of your stress about this by giving you more of this story to read.

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The four Gryffindor students waited in the common room until Professor McGonagall came to let everyone know when certain events this year would be on. Much to the delight of Zoe, the trials for quidditch spots were coming up in the next two weeks. She had wanted to play for the quidditch team since she was sorted into the noble house, but the spots were only open to second-years and above. Zoe's broom from home was a Nimbus 2000 that she had gotten for her birthday during the previous summer holiday. After some not-so-interesting announcements, the Deputy Headmistress touched upon the Duelling club, which would be run by Professors Snape and Lockhart. It was a fun concept, so Harry and Neville had agreed to go to this club, Hermione agreeing after Zoe said she would rather not spend time around either of the two teachers if she had the choice. It would be held on the following Saturday and Sunday, and the others after that, so even with lessons in between, they could still have fun at the duelling club.

The following morning, the news had made its way around Hogwarts, that Ronald Weasley had driven to school in a flying car, subsequently earning himself a month worth of detentions with Filch and Snape alike. If the rumour hadn't already made it everywhere, there was no hiding from it at breakfast. The Slytherin table was graced by a withering old owl called "Bloody Errol" according to the Weasleys, carrying a scarlet envelope that bore the Weasley family seal. Ron looked like he had taken a bludger to the stomach, as he turned green. Nearly everyone in the hall knew what this ominous letter meant, but Harry explained it to Hermione: "That's a howler. It throws the person's recorded voice and projects it to scream loudly at the addressee. Of course, it can be used for normal messages, but they're rarely used for that." Hermione just gasped and said, "That's barbaric, but he did steal a car and crash into a withering tree that's been there for over 40 years." The red note got opened by the quivering red-head and a shrill voice shrieked out. "RONALD WEASLEY! HOW DARE YOU STEAL THAT CAR! I AM ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTED WITH THIS BEHAVIOUR YOUNG MAN. YOUR FATHER IS NOW FACING AN INQUIRY AT WORK AND A TRIAL FOR ATTEMPTED BREACH OF THE STATUTE OF SECRECY. IT IS ENTIRELY YOUR FAULT, YOU ARE GOING TO BE GROUNDED FOR A YEAR IF YOU DON'T WRITE TO THE MINISTRY YOURSELF AND EXPLAIN YOUR FOOLISH ACTIONS.-" The voice quietened and drifted over to the Gryffindor table "Oh and Ginny, congratulations on going into Gryffindor dear. Your father and I are so proud." The howler looked back at Ron and stuck its tongue out at him before tearing itself into shreds.

Harry was honestly appalled. Even though his disdain for Ron was nearly rivalling that of his resentment for Lockhart, no-one deserved that, especially in front of the entirety of Hogwarts. Snape sat in his chair, for once not looking smug and just sporting a look of pure shock that mirrored McGonagall's to a tee. The guilty Slytherin stood up, with his head held high and turned to walk out of the door that was just waiting to be slammed. Before he could, however, Malfoy chose to start spouting jeering comments and harsh lies that fuelled Harry's hatred for the blond ponce. "So Weasley, finally going to leave Hogwarts after all that. Funny, if I knew this would cause it, I would have had my father use a voice emulating spell to impersonate your mother." Ron visibly started to rush to the exit from this with noticeable pools of tears forming in his eyes, but just as he got to the threshold of the hall, he heard the same voice shout one more thing "Huh, I guess you must really be the Weasley outcast to be hated this much." Everyone in the hall held their breath as several Weasley's in the hall trained their wands on Malfoy, yet strangely the person to walk over to the ferret was Neville Longbottom.

"You stuck up little ferret, why can't you just stop talking for once? Do you realise what you say, because, the same harsh words could be easily applied to you? Your father is nothing more than the Minister's lapdog, and you yourself are just the spawn of a neglected child who knew nothing more than hate and bigotry. It's a shame your gorilla goons are over there, having just drunk some pumpkin juice laced with a minor bloating draught, just as you just did yourself." Neville backed up from the scene, to watch all the teachers but Professor McGonagall sit in awe of the bravery he had just shown. Sure enough, a few seconds later, Draco Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle and Nott had all risen into the air, having had their heads engorged with air from the very potion that Draco had slipped into Hermione's pumpkin juice this morning. Professor Snape managed to keep his cool, even though he watched the Pompous Prince of Slytherin drift steadily upwards into the enchanted blue sky of the ceiling. Madame Pomfrey rushed over and thought of the only spell to get him down for now, "Incarcerous". Rope-like tendrils wrapped around Draco, Nott, Crabbe and Goyle and they were steadily pulled to the hospital wing, Malfoy looking like an ugly, black balloon cloaked in greasy blonde hair and green trimmings. The hall burst out laughing and Draco shouted in a very high pitched tone "MY FATHER WILL HEAR ABOUT THIS! YOU WATCH OUT LONGBOTTOM!"

After the laughter and hysterics had died down and Draco's squeaky ramblings had left earshot, Professor Snape asked what Neville did and why. "Simple Professor, while Ronald did do those things and did quite deserve the punishment, he had to suffer through a howler with no friends and the entire hall laughing at him. So when Draco insulted him, I walked over, used a simple switching spell to swap the -contaminated we shall say- pumpkin juice pitcher that Malfoy had intended for Hermione, with his own and watched as the magic unfolded." An unlikely voice spoke up, one belonging to Daphne Greengrass, a Slytherin in second-year, like Ron. "He's not lying Professor Snape, Malfoy did do that and Ron didn't need any more humiliation." Professor McGonagall rushed in and administered a punishment "Detention with me at morning break, Mr Longbottom. And 5 points to Gryffindor for that show of bravery." Neville shrugged and agreed. Professor Flitwick stepped in and surprised everyone. "20 points to Gryffindor for pulling off that amazingly tricky 5th-year spell. Well done indeed Mr Longbottom." With that, breakfast was over, after Professor Snape glared at Neville for causing his star ferret to be undermined.

The Gryffindors had Herbology after breakfast with the rest of the year, but Draco wasn't present for it and neither were his cronies, Crabbe, Goyle and Nott. The second-years were going to learn about mandrakes today, and Neville was of course, ecstatic. As Professor Sprout hobbled into the room as if she was constantly off-balance, she greeted the students with a loud voice, amplified by the small space of greenhouse. "Good morning class," she boomed over the hubbub of the conversations in the room. After getting a simultaneous "Good morning Professor Sprout" she described the lesson. "Today we are going to be potting and re-potting mandrakes. I hope you all have your dragon-hide gloves, as these blighters have been known to rip fingers off at times. But don't worry, the worst that the smaller ones can do is nibble, so you won't be losing fingers." The class gave a collective shudder at the sight of the baby mandrakes, but Neville studied them with a close eye after the shock wore off. They were like tiny children, just green and growing leaves. Or at least, they looked that way from the small diagram shown on the table. The head of Hufflepuff showed everyone where their earmuffs were, and Neville immediately slapped his on, wary of the mandrake's cries. When Sprout had checked that the earmuffs were all on securely, she grasped the stem of the plant and yanked it upwards.

Nearly no one expected the mandrakes to emit an ear-piercing screech that would deafen those who heard in with unprotected ears. Luckily, the dusty glass that resided around the students did not crack, for it was enchanted with multiple layers of durability charms. The screams were apparently so loud and shrill that several students fainted, from having their eardrums used as decibel measurers. Among the casualties of mandrakes: were Seamus Finnigan, Terry Boot and Hannah Abbott. Neville was standing next to Hannah and caught her, before the others hit the paved floor with a thud, thankfully not hitting their heads. Madam Pomfrey had given the Professor enough headache relief potions infused with awakening draughts that the students who succumbed to the shrieks were standing around again, more wary of the tightness of the earmuffs. Once they had all started to re-pot the mandrakes, the lesson was smooth-sailing for the entire year. Professor Sprout asked questions at the end of the lesson, and only two people answered. Neville's hand shot up faster than a person could say mandrake and answered the first question "What properties does the mandrake possess that would make a human would stay away from an adolescent one?" The herbology prodigy confidently said "A fully grown mandrake or mandragora has a cry fatal to the human ears, and it also commonly has a functioning mind similar to that of humans. They also resemble humans to some degree and are known to experience puberty, similarly to how we do Professor." Even the herbology Professor was stunned at the level of detail in the answer. "Excellent Mr Longbottom, 10 points to Gryffindor." Su Li answered the other question, though Hermione and Neville both had hands reaching the ceiling of the greenhouse. "What can a mandrake be used for in potions?" The answer was a mandrake restorative draught, that among some other more obscure uses, could heal a person who was petrified and turn them back to their original state.

Lunch rolled around faster with Transfiguration being 2nd period, after all, time flies when you're having fun. People were all over the classroom, huddled into groups that would take turns transfiguring a beetle into a button and back to a beetle again. The beetles would sometimes struggle against the spells before diminishing back into the black coat buttons. Ron Weasley had a faulty wand from his encounter with the school's deadly tree, therefore not having any ability to produce any correct spell, including basics such as the lighting charm. Professor McGonagall had said in her firm Scottish accent "That wand will need replacing Mr Weasley. It will do no good for you in this state. May I also ask, did this wand belong to a family member before you?" He meekly nodded at her last question. "Then I suggest you talk to your parents about this. I can have a teacher accompany you to Diagon Alley next weekend." He again just solemnly nodded. Lunch was less of an affair and was only interrupted by a positive intrusion.

Daphne Greengrass sauntered up to the Gryffindor table after finishing some Sweet Potato soup and bread roll, asking for Harry and Neville. The two boys understood her request and followed her hurriedly out of the Great Hall, blending in with some other crowds of students on their ways out of the dining room. She started "So, you two want an alliance of sorts with my house?" Neville responded quickly, "No. We want an alliance with you, and people you trust. Our society is in a bit of a rough spot. Hiding from a certain group on the side opposing the Ministry and hiding from trained killers is as you might expect, extremely difficult. Especially when those opposing the Ministry are being led by Albus Dumbledore and the other leaders of the Great Alliance. We need people we can trust to stand by us, and we need them to be able to avoid the noses of Albus Dumbledore and Lord Voldemort."

Daphne gasped at the use of the Dark Lord's actual name but kept listening intently to Harry's comments. "We need people that can have protection from people inside the Ministry, and as I recall, you nearly had an alliance with House Potter and your father is part of the Wizengamot, correct?" Daphne sputtered out a short answer, "I will join this cause. I don't want He-who-sh… oh, forget it! Voldemort to be roaming around again, especially if the Great Alliance is condemning one of you two to death. There are others in Ravenclaw and Slytherin that you can trust, and I'm sure that Tracey knows some Hufflepuffs worthy of your request. Until we meet again, Heir Potter, Heir Longbottom." Harry and Neville stopped her at the same time. "It's Harry and Neville, Daphne, if we may?" She nodded and strode back to her house table. Neville noticed Malfoy back at the table of green and he shot him a smirk, knowing that revenge was coming, and he and Harry would face it together, like brothers.

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Yes, I know, some of this is hard to believe, a second-year knowing fifth year spells, pffft. However, Harry and Hermione have shown an aptitude for spells, and let's not forget that Neville was brought up in the wizarding world, knowing about magic and seeing others use it on the daily and Harry, Hermione, Zoe and Neville are some of the most talented and hardworking people in the entirety of Hogwarts.


	7. Chapter 7 : The Duelling Club

I don't own the story or the characters of Harry Potter, this work is entirely fan-made. The rights to everything Harry Potter belong to J.K Rowling.

Well, here we go again and I must say that so far, this has been my favourite chapter for The Heir of Slytherin to write.

I just hope that this small corner of the internet with my stories can be enough to help some people feel better during the COVID-19 outbreak. To anyone affected, know that all of our hearts are with you in this stressful time.

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The room was crowded with first to seventh-years alike. Everyone who could have had turned up to witness the spectacle of the year. The opening of the Hogwarts Duelling club, led by the 'dashing defence teacher' as Lavender and Parvati had coined him. Even some of the less likely to show up faces had arrived, including Harry Potter and Hermione Granger, who were notorious for not being under his radiating control of a smile. The theatrics were corny and self-congratulatory, at least in Gilderoy Lockhart's case. He was joined by Professor Snape, who had also signed up to monitor the Duelling Club, the very second that it was announced in the Great Hall by Professor Dumbledore. HE had secretly wanted the position of Defence-Against-the-Dark-Arts when he first applied for the job of a teacher, but Dumbledore had strongly shot him down, for he believed that the position was cursed, by none other than Voldemort himself. At the time, Severus had thought otherwise, but it became clear in later years that the crackpot old fool might have a point. Every year, the DADA position was filled, but the person never lasted more than the required amount of hours per year.

The first demonstration was an exhibition duel between the two Professors, and Harry wanted his potions master to win, to humiliate Lockhart, to extinguish his ego, just so that they could get proper learning of Defence. The current DADA Professor's duelling pose was as stupid as Harry had read it was, he poised his wand… at the ceiling, which was an easy win for Snape if he chose to make it so. The 'blond beauty' had his other hand waving gaily about to his adoring, teenage fans and Hermione shared Harry's sentiment about being a nutjob after seeing this. "One… two… three! Tarantellegra!" Lockhart shouted, needing to use verbal incantations, something that even Neville hadn't needed to do when humiliating Malfoy that is. Professor Snape cancelled the jinx immediately with a swish of his wand. The spell fizzled out and the Defence Professor immediately fired off another jinx and Professor Snape blocked it using an opportunity to show what a proper defensive spell was. "Protego, Mimblewimble." The potions teacher stated calmly and shot off a tongue-tying curse. This would impair Lockhart's ability to speak his spells and use incantations. He did know a cancelling spell and used it to regain his lost ability to talk. By the time he had used the incantation in his head, Professor Snape had disarmed him and pushed his to the floor of the stage, using a well-timed "Depulso".

Everyone gasped in shock at the downfall of Gilderoy Lockhart by Professor Severus Snape, but Harry and Hermione started a clap for the potions teacher. Only the Slytherins and the four cheered, as everyone else either loved, Lockhart, hated Snape or both. The man on the floor got up with a wince and waved his fans off, forbidding them silently to help him, to boost his own image. No one noticed that, despite Lockhart's first-year spells, he had performed mild, wandless and silent confudus charms to those who had tried to help him pick his sorry arse up off the floor. With a swish of his cape, he singled out a person to his left to start the next duel. His short smirk was directed at only Harry. "Mr Potter, please would you demonstrate for the next duel." He said, not asking, but ordering. Professor Snape's candidate was up next. "Weasley, you had better not lose in five seconds. It will not do your reputation proud." The potions master said, pointing a white finger at Ron, who had gained a new wand recently, even after his parents had said they couldn't afford it. Professor McGonagall billed the school, knowing that they had more than enough money to pay for a new wand for a needy student. His hand sported a brand new wand, just days out of Ollivander's. It held exactly two strands of unicorn hair, was made of willow and was just 14'' long.

As Ron held his wand up in a duelling stance, Harry walked up the steps patiently and passed Lockhart on his way to the middle. He could swear that the Professor whispered: "Good luck trying to win Potter." Harry paid no mind to this, much to the chagrin of Gilderoy. He scowled and gave the boys some space to duel. Luckily, Harry had the head of the Auror department as a father and a master in DADA as a potions master, so beating a red-head with knowledge of little spells should be easy. The two boys walked backwards and brandished their wands, not taking their eyes off each other. "One… two… three. Begin!" Lockhart exclaimed.

Harry waited first for Ron to cast a spell so that he would know the power and skill of who he was up against. Ron cried "Impintus!" and fired the tripping jinx at Harry. The new wand seemed to serve him well. The jinx was cast nearly flawlessly, and this was surprising, since the spell, even though simple, was only taught to fifth-years and above. The pink light shot towards Harry's legs and he only just managed to dodge it by jumping over it and rolling to the right, as far as the circular stage would let him. Harry sent a look of brief impress over towards Ronald but turned his face impassive again, as he concentrated on Weasley's footsteps and their direction. He was taking a route diagonally to his left, so Harry began to play it smart, not brawny. "Fumos" Harry whispered so that a large cloud of harmless and odourless smoke poured over the stage. The young Gryffindor took this opportunity to duck around Ron and use his own tripping jinx. Letting the smoke cover his target, Harry stood on the opposite side and used "Ventus" to clear the smoke and further knock his adversary over again. The clever use of the wind jinx impressed Professor Snape and made Lockhart fume. He wanted Potter to be humiliated for his mother's actions in Flourish and Blotts.

The smoke cleared and Ron was left on one knee, gasped for the air that was ironically knocked out of him when the wind jinx was used. He saw Harry standing idly by, yet with his wand still poised at him. Using a curse, though not a terrible one, he charged at Harry to distract him. "SLUGULUS ERECTO!" Ron shouted, seemingly at Harry, but the red-head failed to notice a shimmering outline about Harry's figure. His opponent had sneakily used a Protego charm and further disillusioned it, as a subtle show of power. The curse bounced off and Ron had to hit the deck to avoid a mouthful of slugs. Harry used the chance to simply strut over to Ron and pluck his wand from his hand. He had won the duel, quite spectacularly at that. Hermione started a round of applause for Harry and everyone else quickly joined her, even Slytherin and Ron. Harry held out his hand to Ron Weasley, who was still on the floor, slightly dazed. The other boy took the extended hand and pulled himself up. Ron was handed his wand back and congratulated by Lockhart and even Snape for his valiant performance.

Harry was surprised by the boy's skills with a wand, after all, he had used a fifth-year jinx when he himself was only a second-year. Intrigued Harry asked Ron how he knew that spell. "Oh, right. You know my brothers right? Fred and George? Well, they are kind of a legendary pranking duo, so they taught me some basic jinxes and hexes to use on unsuspecting people. But after I behaved badly and got detentions, I tried to stop breaking the rules, if possible of course." Ron smiled feebly and added: "Still, they don't compare to your spells, those were bloody mental. Powerful. In fact, I think I still have a headache from that knockdown." Harry sheepishly apologised and congratulated him again on his great effort. The vast amount of people were sorted into year and skill level, by Professor Snape as, fortunately, Lockhart had been shocked into silence by Harry's performance and success. Harry and Ron were separated from each other as Harry was put into a group with third, fourth and fifth-years. Snape had guessed correctly and silently that Harry had learnt some skills and spells from his father, James Potter: his childhood bully and the husband of the love of his life, Lily. Severus still had yet to make amends with Lily Potter nee. Evans, and desperately wanted to do so if only to move forward and start loving again.

Shaking out of his daydream, Snape directed Harry into the second of three groups, one containing Cho Chang and Cedric Diggory. Harry greeted the two and shook hands with his allies. The Hufflepuff motioned Harry into a whisper and said: "So, think you could teach me? I mean, that was just impressive, no other word for it." Harry laughed and said "Really? I could think of some other words, amazing, talented, brilliant. Any of the above would suit." Harry dodged a punch in the shoulder that Cedric had thrown and agreed to teach him some of the stuff he had used. They were all paired off into groups of three, so one could watch and comment on improvements. Harry, Cho and Cedric were all partnered up with each other, by a sudden stroke of luck, or a confundus charm placed on Lockhart by Harry. 'The idiot doesn't even know how to stop a confundus charm?' Harry thought as he readied his wand to duel against Cho. Cedric stood idly by and observed the pair, watching their eyes carefully. "One… Two… Three… Begin!" He commanded with force.

Cho waved her wand and tried to perform a disarming charm on Harry's holly wood wand. It merely flinched in the young boy's hand and he sent one right back, sending the stick clattering to the floor. Harry started towards Cho: "Right, here's the first thing, if you are going to cast the disarming charm, you have to wave your wand in the correct way, it helps to focus the magical energy into a particular area. Next, you need to make sure that the target doesn't have a shield up. Now I didn't, but if one was up, you would have disarmed yourself because it would have rebounded." Cho picked up her wand and made to try and disarm Harry again. "Expelliarmus!" She cried, and Harry's hand flinched this time, and his wand slipped from it, rolling to Cho who picked it up and handed it back to him. "That was great advice Harry, it really helps. Thank you." The Ravenclaw seeker said, whilst waving Cedric over to have a duel with her. Harry obliged and gave way to the burly fourth-year.

Before they could start, a fight was happening on the stage. Malfoy had cornered Neville who was working with Hermione and Zoe. He had Crabbe, Goyle and Nott following him, their shoulders tensed and looking ready to lash out. Neville ushered Hermione behind him and squared up to the bully, his wand trembling in his sleeve. Draco lashed out with a cruel, sneering tone "Potter can't help you now, can he Longbottom. You are all alone now unless you want a Mudblood fighting your battles for you." Hermione whipped her wand out, but it was immediately discarded to the floor, where it lay at Ernie MacMillan and Terry Boots' feet. "What's the matter Malfoy, can't fight your own battles so you let your cronies do it instead. Isn't that what your daddy taught you to do, to be an honourless ferret that no one respects? It's working." Hermione said, inching her way to her wand, itching to get a clear shot and a throwing charm off. Crabbe spoke up "Ah ah. No, you don't." and banished her wand further away to rest near the stage.

Neville was quick to react, expelling Crabbe's wand from his pudgy hand and sending him on a wild Hippogriff chase to find it. Malfoy was shocked at the suddenness of his actions, so Nott tried to take action next. "Everte Statum!" He shouted, nearly deafening himself, but not having any sound come out of his mouth that was used to hurling words into the air. 'Silencing charm, nice work. Whispered of course, but good strategy.' Snape thought, reading Harry's mind and agreeing with the boy. Neville threw his throwing charm back at the boy and he cartwheeled in the air to land on the soft mat of the duelling stage. Two attackers left, but both fully aware of his threatening presence now. Cedric noticed Harry had moved away from him since Draco walked up to Neville. He also recalled seeing a strange, changing head shape, but Cedric took that as being a simple trick of the light. "I'm right here Malfoy, just found my wand." Crabbe had sidled up next to Draco, wearing a smirk, but holding a Holly wand. "Fumos. Good look Draco." Harry said from next to the blond boy, the other unaware that Harry had morphed his face into Crabbe's.

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Can you see why I loved writing these chapters, the duels and the fights? Its because you can make them end and continue in so many different ways. The possibilities are nearly endless. Of course, I wanted to give Neville more of the spotlight to develop his 'Gryffindor' qualities more and so I did.


	8. Chapter 8 : The Chamber is Open

I don't own the story or the characters of Harry Potter, this work is entirely fan-made. The rights to everything Harry Potter belong to J.K Rowling.

Just a warning, some harsh language, but nothing too vulgar.

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The blond ponce of Slytherin felt a spell of some kind slam into him from behind and heard Goyle shout to his left. Draco Malfoy was found a second later with his face firmly pressed into the ground by Harry's knee and looking to Goyle and Nott, who sat under the trained wand of Neville. Hermione was crouching next to Harry, wearing a look of satisfaction and concern for her boyfriend. Suddenly, a voice cried out from the crowd and said "10 points from Gryffindor for an unprovoked attack on four other students! Mr Potter, Mr Longbottom, explain yourselves!" The golden locks of Gilderoy Lockhart were seen by all from the reflections of the light through the stained glass of the Great Hall's windows. His hair was for once, untidy, messy and, very unlike a hero in a fantasy movie. "Are you serious Professor?! They attacked me and then went on to insult Hermione by calling her a foul word and if you think that we're am going to stand for that-." Neville asked the man incredulously. "A simple matter of name-calling is no cause for attacks on students." The whole room sat in disbelief as Lockhart tried to _defend_ Malfoy. Harry intervened, showing eyes blazing with fury at the ferret and the fraud. "AND WHAT OF THE ATTACK ON HERMIONE?! THAT WORD IS THE REASON WHY SO MANY BIGOTED PRICKS WHO CALL THEMSELVES 'SUPERIOR PEOPLE' ARE IN POWER, BECAUSE NOBODY SPEAKS OUT AGAINST THE FUCKING DEGRADATION OF THE PEOPLE WE CALL FAMILY AND FRIENDS!" Harry was visibly reaching his limit with certain people today and everyone in the hall knew it.

Zoe whispered something in his ear and it seemed to calm him down momentarily. Harry walked over to Professor Snape and said to him "You understand don't you, Professor? How calling someone that can hurt them, right in their very soul. How it can crush them, how they suffer for this. You understand that, don't you?" Severus knew what Harry was referring to. So did the young boy. Snape seemed to have a brief fluttering in his concentration at that second as if he saw the boy's meaning.

_A young man sat at the Slytherin table at Hogwarts, gazing over to the seating area of the proud lions belonging to Gryffindor house. A young woman with flowing auburn hair was walking swiftly down the aisle to meet with someone, a young man, the same age as her, with messy, jet black hair and a face sporting round glasses. Lily, the young woman, was just about to take her place at the table of bravery, before the young man, James bent down on one knee and asked her to go to the nearby village of Hogsmeade with him, next week. Severus, the Slytherin boy, saw a glance to him from Lily, quicker than the fleeting glares that plagued his normal line of sight. The look of contempt that was once there in Severus' eyes was no longer present but was replaced by a look of longing, a pang of regret and a shimmer of sorrow. If she had noticed these thoughts, spinning in his head, not sure which to register, she had ignored them and agreed to the date that James Potter had proposed to her._

Snape was pulled out of his dream-like trance of memory and back to reality by the same two people in the dream, but younger. A young man sporting his father's rugged looks and a young woman who bore the face of Severus Snape's former love. "Malfoy, I have spoked to you about this word twice before and still you continue to ignore my warnings. You will serve detention for a month with me and 10-points will be taken from Slytherin. The same goes for you three as well," He said pointing at Draco's cronies. "Mr Potter and Mr Longbottom will not lose the 10 points they have lost as we are in a duelling club after all. They won." Lockhart was stunned and the hall shared his horror as well. Professor Snape just took points off his own house and didn't give a Gryffindor the detentions that were in fair reason to be given. Professor Snape dismissed the students from the Great Hall and led Malfoy plus his henchmen to the dungeons and his office. The seemingly most-horrible teacher in the school, who was known to favour his own house for no good reason had just given month-long detentions to four of the most notorious bullies in the school. It all seemed to be stemming from the words of one hero: Harry Potter.

The morning of September the 14th was a quiet one, the school still shocked by the incarceration of four Slytherin's by their Head-of-House, Professor Severus Snape. The first two lessons of the day were a relaxing double period of Charms. They would be practising both the engorgement and the freezing charms to further their knowledge of second-year spells, disregarding the fact that four in the class had already practised these and knew most of the second-year curriculum and some of the third. The practice was needed though, and lots of people had been failing at it all lesson, that was until Zoe helped the class out by showing them all the proper technique, earning the Gryffindors a total of 20-house points. The freezing charm was "Spectacularly performed!" as Professor Flitwick had said, after being frozen by another badly aimed spell by Seamus Finnigan. Everyone was able to practice the engorgement charm on their feathers by the end of the second period of charms class, so the only homework set was to practice the freezing charm on flying objects such as bugs or simply tossed items. The next lesson was History of Magic with the bland Professor Binns. Cuthbert Binns was a short and balding man who had only one substantial factor about him. He was a ghost! One that didn't know he was dead mind you because if he did realise it, one might call him a dedicated teacher, instead of an unaware phantom.

This was a great opportunity for any student to catch up on some sleep, as the spectre of a tutor instructed about almost the same lesson each period, no matter the year unless in 1st. In your first year, he would drone on about the boring founders' story and how they came to create the magnificent school beneath their very feet. All of that information that was constantly babbling out of his mouth was normally an easy E grade for all students, as goblin rebellions were very uncommon, and the only one they were lectured on was the one that happened in 1752 that made a total of two Ministers for Magic resign. Even Hermione, the notorious bookworm had trouble keeping her eyelids from drooping. In no time at all, the whole class was either snoring away or struggling to stay awake and Professor Binns didn't even notice the state of immense boredom that emanated from the class. Eventually, after many peaceful and some nightmarish dreams, the bell gonged with an amplified sound using a permanent sonorous charm. The bell for lunch shook all the second-years out of a tired stupor and signalled the arrival of food in the Great Hall, a welcome sight for most.

The final lesson of the day at 1:30 pm was with the dreaded Professor Lockhart. After his humiliating defeat at the hands of one Severus Snape, his morale had seemed slightly down, as if he had never lost a battle in his life, just like his books said. The Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors belonging to the second-year lined up outside his classroom, waiting for the face of their bedazzling teacher to emerge and get the girls swooning again. They had been waiting for 5 minutes into the lesson time before the man in question appeared at the oak door. Oddly, another student also wandered out at the same time that the Defence Professor ushered the second-years in. Harry looked at the girl, hunched over and covering her face with long black locks. Though Harry recognised the voice that murmured "Thank you, Gilderoy." Cho Chang was seen walking to her lesson down the hall with a late note clasped in her hand and her other caressing her cheek. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Harry sat down at his desk with Ernie MacMillan that was arranged in a seating plan and took out his copy of "Gadding with Ghouls" that bore the face of a charming man with sparkling eyes and glimmering teeth, as if posing like a muggle movie star on the 'red-carpet', as Hermione had called it.

The lesson started with another quiz about Lockhart's life and achievements, as per the norm, in which Harry still wondered why he had a job as a Professor and not one selling his autobiography himself. With all due respect to the man's apparent 'skill', Hermione had noticed that he knew nearly none of the second-year Defence syllabi off by heart, which was expected by a _Professor_ in the subject. She also noticed that his eyes seemed to twinkle like Dumbledore's had last year when he set his blue eyes on her face. Shifting uncomfortably in her seat, she asked Neville who was sitting next to her if he had seen the older man looking at her. He nodded perceptibly and raised his hand, to distract Lockhart. Their Professor tore his gaze from Hermione, his face was now flushed with something between a scowl and seething rage, and strode over to Neville, his 'Silencing charmed Dragon-Hide boots' as he called them tapping against the polished floor. Neville pointed out a manoeuver in the book that correlated with one in the textbook and showed his teacher, the boy's face stuck in a look of pride, and smugness, which disappeared when Lockhart looked at him and deducted two points for questioning a teacher's authority. As Parvati Patil asked Lockhart over, a dreamy look adorning her face, he once again donned a smile and glanced at Hermione on the way to the other Gryffindor girl's desk. She and Lavender had giggled when he flashed his perfect teeth at them and asked them to stay after class for some 'extra studying'. Something told Hermione that Parvati and Lavender would be in the same state as the other girl that walked out earlier.

The agonising lesson ended most of the classes for the day and dismissed the Defence class to dinner. The way to the Great Hall from Lockhart's classroom was a short one through the east corridor. Harry, Hermione, Zoe and Neville turned a corner to find a small gathering of fourth and second-year students staring up at a rag hanging from a torch. Except on closer inspection, it wasn't a rag at all, it was the caretaker's cat, hanging by its tail from the torch, above a horrifying message.

THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED. ENEMIES OF THE HEIR … BEWARE.

The chilling message looked drawn in blood and smeared with fingers, as evident from the patterns on the wall in scarlet liquid. Draco Malfoy and the class of Ravenclaws had also passed the new mural and stopped to gaze at the threat. With almost a knowing look, he turned to the group of four Gryffindors and said: "You'll be next Mudbloods and you muggle-lovers too." The only thing holding Harry back was the arrival of Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall, swiftly gracing the entire group with their presence. The students held their breath to wait for the Professor's reactions. The current transfiguration teacher gasped and held her hand to her mouth. Dumbledore remained impassive and let out a sigh, then addressed the growing crowd. "All students will be escorted to their dormitories immediately by their Prefects and if anyone sees anything that could be the culprit, bring it to your head of your house. Off you go now, pip pip." Zoe attempted to read the old man's mind but she was immediately thrown out of it by an invisible force. She couldn't read his decaying mind or gather his senile thoughts, but she did know, the Professor was hiding something, something that he knows no-one should see.

Elsewhere, Ginny Weasley was leaving the toilets on the second floor when suddenly, a name started to whisper itself to Ginny, leaving her in a state of wonder. A voice called to her again, this time saying _"Ginny. Ginny. You must take me out of your pocket. I need to see you." _Her diary was talking to her again after they had exchanged conversations in the summer when she had found the book in her cauldron and found out that it could respond to her thoughts. She whispered back while ducking into the toilets again. "It's great to hear from you again, Tom."

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More insight into Gilderoy Lockhart's agenda here. If you don't understand what is happening, all I will say is: Think of Larry LaSalle from 'Heroes' by Robert Cormier and some of his final words.

Also, the word ponce is NOT used as a slur for homosexual people in this context, it is used to refer to Malfoy as a person who dresses and presents themselves slightly flamboyantly to give off a sense of superiority.

On a lighter note, yes, there is the introduction of the Chamber of Secrets and Tom. I will refer to him as 'Tom' until I say otherwise, because that is all that Ginny knows him by. I also made my own change. I thought since the locket and other horcruxes can possibly talk, like the locket did to Ron in DH, the other horcruxes should be able to talk and interact with humans, as they are basically living souls.


	9. Chapter 9 : Celebration

I don't own the story or the characters of Harry Potter, this work is entirely fan-made. The rights to everything Harry Potter belong to J.K Rowling.

I hope you are all safe in isolation like I am and I wish you all the very best in these troubling times. To ease our minds a bit, I have this story still going but the reason it is still here and not on hiatus is because of everyone reading it. I thank every single person who has read, reviewed, followed or made this a favourite. Each and every person has been so supportive in just reading this that I feel like a reward is in place.

Side note: As of the uploading of this chapter, the story has hit over 1000 reads, so thank you all again for your support

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The week had been a tense one, to say the least, with the threat of Slytherin's heir still fresh in everyone's minds. The teachers even seemed a little jumpy at times and were startled when misbehaving students threw something in class, such as a paper plane charmed to soar automatically or a wad of super-stick chewing gum from Honeydukes. The only teachers that didn't seem affected were Professor Dumbledore and Professor Binns, as he was unaware of the Chamber's opening. Professor McGonagall was the teacher to start issuing detentions to those who kept on adding to the fear-mongering of the threat against the 'Enemies of the Heir', much to the disappointment of Fred and George Weasley. Hermione had been furiously searching for the answer to the question on everybody's mind: Who was the heir of Slytherin. She had scoured the library for every piece of history on the family of Slytherin until she went back to her favourite wizarding book: 'Hogwarts: A History'. It contained no clear answers but she was determined to find something about the Chamber in Salazar Slytherin's chapter.

Harry had taken to searching through his copy as well, though to less of an obsessive rate compared to his girlfriend, who was constantly making highlights in pencil and writing down her notes. The weekend of Saturday the 19th was coming up, and Harry had thought of a gift for Hermione that was sure to mean something to her. He never mentioned her birthday before then, as last year they hadn't known when it was and this year was her first year with her boyfriend at Hogwarts, celebrating it with her other best friends and compatriots. Neville and Zoe had both helped Harry with his plans, as had Hermione's parents through the sending of letters. The three friends had been worried for Hermione, as she was obsessing over the Chamber of Secrets and Slytherin house all of a sudden. Since everyone in the castle was sure to know of the history of the founders and the special chamber built by Salazar Slytherin, they hadn't been worried that Hermione would do something so drastic as to throw herself into her work. The four had discussed plans for a party, but seeing as Hermione wasn't one for much partying, they decided to forego those plans. They would still be celebrating, but in a way that didn't draw too much attention.

The morning of Saturday had arrived, and Hermione was sound asleep in her bed in the girls' dorm until Zoe woke her up and exclaimed a quiet "Happy Birthday!" to her, remembering generously that the other girls were asleep considering that it was 7:00 on a Saturday morning. Hermione sat upright in her four-poster bed and greeted Zoe with a hug, as it was the first birthday in 2 years that she had celebrated with people she had considered family, as her parents were on a business conference trip on her 11th birthday and she was alone at Hogwarts on her 12th. The two girls were dressed and in the common room by quarter-past 7 and waiting for them were Harry and Neville, the former looking more pleased than Hermione had ever seen him. She quickly embraced the two honorary brothers and released them shortly after Harry had started jokingly wheezing from the hug. Blushing heavily, she stood back and beamed at the two boys for getting up earlier than 9 am on a Saturday just for her. Presents were given before the rest of the house woke up, which Hermione nearly caused after a silver necklace was given to her and she squealed in delight.

Harry presented Hermione with a gleaming, silver pendant and opened it for her. The rectangular piece of jewellery contained a picture which she assumed was taken from James' Pensieve memories, of her and Harry embracing in the parking field at the Zoo during the holidays. The picture was charmed so that the beautiful flowers would sway in the breeze or still themselves with a tap of a wand. The radiant sun glistened at them all in the background of the picture, and a large forest of trees and shrubbery framed the centre of the image. Harry and Hermione were hugging like a soldier of war with his wife for the first time after coming home, or an old, married couple happily reminiscing about old times through an embrace. The real Hermione shed a tear at the beautiful image presented before her and she hugged Harry as if he was leaving and would never be able to come back. Holding back tears of happiness and fondness, Hermione choked out "Damn you, Harry. Already content and crying, and we aren't even at breakfast yet". She laughed as the others stood slack-jawed at the use of a swearword, even if a minor one. They eventually saw the hilarity and laughed along as they clambered out through the portrait hole.

There were scarcely any students in the corridors or on the stairs, and there was an almost eerie absence of people in the Great Hall, aside from Professors Hagrid, Flitwick and McGonagall. Apparently, it was too early for even Dumbledore to get up for breakfast on a Saturday. Hermione admired the necklace around her neck throughout breakfast, whilst leaning into Harry's shoulder and gazing at her toast. To anyone but the four, the day was normal, yet for Zoe, she was practising her catching and throwing skills with Neville by the lake to prepare for Quidditch trials tomorrow. Harry and Hermione were watching the lake, curled up by a tree and skimming stones to relax. The fresh autumn air was gracing them with the sun for what seemed like days on end, but clouds were starting to roll in from the north, slow as to give people a gloomy warning. Dark brown and orange leaves scattered themselves around the young couple, decorating their view with specks of dark colours along the shoreline and filling their ears with sounds of crunching as all four people walked underneath the trees back up to the castle. Of course, no day in the life of this quartet was a normal one, something had to happen eventually. Draco Malfoy had graced their presence on their way past the stairs to the dungeons. He scowled at them and muttered something under his breath. Zoe read his mind by accident with her legilimens ability and whispered something in Harry's ear.

'What is that thing staring at. She knows she isn't worthy to look at me, neither is her boyfriend, perfect Potter'. He spat this as he thought it and carried on walking. Harry tapped him on the shoulder as he muttered more obscenities. Out of earshot of Hermione, he whispered to Draco "Hold your tongue in future, people can hear what you are saying. Think or say that again about Hermione or myself, and I will hex you into oblivion. Understand?" The blond boy merely shook his head in acknowledgement and trundled off with his cronies who were waiting like portly and visible foxes for their pack leader to arrive. Shaking his head, Harry turned the other way so that he wasn't staring holes into the back of Malfoy's head and was instead facing an expectant Hermione. "What was that about Harry? Actually, don't tell me. I would rather the ferret not ruin today." With the fleeting worry of having to tell Hermione about what the boy said dispelled from his mind, Harry took her hand and eagerly walked with the other three back up to Gryffindor tower.

The portrait swung open at the mention of the correct password and out popped a startled Ginny Weasley, clutching a black book in between her shaking arms. Staring at the girl for a short moment, they let her pass and she hurried off in the other direction, glancing worriedly over her trembling shoulder to make sure that they weren't still looking at her. Shrugging, Neville clambered through the portrait hole and helped the others through, with the Lady's portrait sealing the entrance after they were safely inside the Gryffindor common room. The Weasley twins were staring at the entrance and subsequent exit to the common room with worried looks, probably because their sister was acting very strangely. "Hey guys," Harry said casually before asking about the elephant in the room, or in this case, out of the room, seeing as the subject of their conversation had trapesed out of the common room not thirty seconds ago. "Is Ginny alright at the moment, she seems to be very jumpy and timid all of a sudden?" "Now that you mention it, O marauder in the making, she has been quite distant as of late. We thought that she might have been spooked by Percy and his girlfriend, seeing as she caught them snogging after Transfiguration two days ago. But now we think it might be something else seeing as Percy has told us about her now."

After the enlightening conversation, Harry pulled Hermione aside for a quick chat. Whispering in her ear "So how has today been?" She replied in a distant tone as if she was still in a dream-world "It has been great Harry, one of the best birthdays of my life. I don't think anything could have made it more perfect." He smiled and looked her in her brown eyes "I'm sure that you want to go and study now, but I have one more thing planned." Harry borderline dragged her back through the portrait, much to the annoyance of the Lady Elizabeth in the painting, towards the stairs that were just rotating back around to them. Hermione smiled in a large grin at Harry as he pulled her onto the moving stairs and started leading her towards the entrance hall. The young couple came to a painting of a bowl of fruit and they stood there, Hermione assumed because they were looking at a patch of a brick wall. Harry proved her wrong by -tickling a pear that subsequently giggled- and then beckoned her through to the kitchens. All around her, elves were performing great feats of culinary talent that would amaze even great chefs such as Mary Berry, The Queen of Cakes. Unfortunately, she was widely known by wizards to be a muggle and so she kept her reign over food preparation in her world.

Harry planned to get a basket of food to share on a picnic with his girlfriend on the astronomy tower to see the views, as they wouldn't get to see it very often unless they took astronomy or divination as electives next year. Harry had a wicker basket that was shrunk in his pocket so he returned it to its normal size to fit the copious amounts of food into it. Once the kindly elves had packed many items of food and some plates into the basket with cushioning charms, Harry waved goodbye to the Hogwarts chefs and set off with a wide-mouthed Hermione in tow. After catching up with him, she demanded an answer to something before they set off again. "Are those elves slaves Harry? They shouldn't be doing that," she began after Harry nodded but she was cut off. "They aren't slaves Hermione, they have to serve a wizarding family because they need the magical bond to survive, otherwise, well, you understand what happens then." She was content with that answer for now, as it seemed genuine, but she would research the bond between elf and wizard later. Trudging up the steps to the astronomy tower, Harry and Hermione were working up a very large appetite, of which they had brought a counter. Plentiful amounts of scones, clotted cream and jam were laid out in dishes on a green and red blanket that was fished out from the depths of the basket. Lunch was quite enjoyable, as the couple laughed, talked and discussed anything and everything that could be talked about while simultaneously keeping interested. A bell brought the two out of a love-drunken state and back into reality where the wind was whipping up and the food was gone, leaving not a crumb on the plates. 'The perfect day, with a perfect person' Hermione thought as she laid down in her bed that night. 'I cant wait to see what _our _future holds in store.

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More Harmony, yes I know its almost unrealistic for a twelve and thirteen year old to be 'dating' in the common sense, but the two have known each other for a year and see each other basically 24/7 365 days a year. Also I understand some will still complain at this and simply put, I don't care. They will stay 'normal teenagers' for a while and will NOT engage in 'that' just yet. Hell, they're only both at the age of consent in Britain AFTER the end of their** fifth year**. If you don't understand what any of that means, well you're probably too young to read this anyway.


	10. Chapter 10 : Quidditch and Creeps

I don't own the story or the characters of Harry Potter, this work is entirely fan-made. The rights to everything Harry Potter belong to J.K Rowling.

I hope you are all well in these current times and to ease your mental pain, I give you another chapter. This was quite fun for me to write past the fourth paragraph, I just don't particularly like writing or reading about stuff before that, so don't expect much more of stuff like paragraphs 1-3.

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Waking with a jolt, Zoe cast a tempus charm to look at the time which read 9:03. The tryouts for the Gryffindor Quidditch team were to be held at 10:00 this morning. The mild temperature and absence of blustery winds were sure to be a benefit to the people trying out. The only positions that weren't currently covered by existing members of the team were seeker, reserve seeker and two reserve chasers. The trusty Nimbus 2000 that sat in her trunk was looking very ready to do some proper training. It would hopefully be one of the primary factors that lead to her getting the position she wanted. Being equally good in both seeker and chaser positions, she was hoping to get a spot as the starting seeker or at the least a sub for either position, preferably the former. The seventh-year seeker, James Walker had left last year after graduating, so the spot of seeker was up for grabs. Zoe had been so nervous about the trials, that she had forgotten to go down to breakfast first, so Hermione brought her some pancakes from the Gryffindor table to quell the hunger developing in her friend's stomach. Sitting in the stands with Harry and Neville, she was rooting for her friend as were the other two.

The Captain of the team, Oliver wood was a fairly nice person but was a brutal leader of the Quidditch team he ran. Starting players for the team were himself as the Keeper, the two Weasley twins playing as the Beaters as they worked together instinctively when whacking the bludgers at the opposition. Angelina Johnson, Katie Bell and Alicia Spinnet were the current starting Chasers that threw the quaffle to each other and into the hoops with ease. The only position left to fill was the Seeker's. They had to be fast, agile and have a keen eye to spot the tiny golden snitch amongst the other players in the air. Zoe was confident that she could bag a position on the team whether it be as the seeker or a reserve chaser. Starting positions were normally reserved for the older years, but it had been done by younger people in the past. The trials were over quite quickly due to the need for only 4 people, not a whole new team. 'Still, can't be too easy to get a starting spot' Zoe thought as she trudged down to the pitch for the tryouts.

The reserve chaser spots were happening with existing chasers Spinnnet and Bell and the keeper, Oliver Wood. Calling up the four people who were applying for the position, Wood called for the four to be a team and to try and score as many points as possible between them. Watching intently from the stands, Harry noted that Wood was trying to assess the teamwork that the four would display with each other, as that would ensure success when trying to win a match. The quaffle started with a fourth-year guy called Kenneth Towler who promptly sped off towards the posts, unaware that he had teammates to help him score. Captain Wood put him in his place, however, and the ball bounced off his fist and into the waiting hands of Zoe, who had tailed the fourth-year. Proceeding to fly off away from the posts, she tossed the quaffle to Benjamin Parkes, the fifth-year Gryffindor prefect, who caught it after rolling away from Katie Bell, who tried to intercept the red ball. After only 4 goals scored by the pairing of Ben Parkes and Zoe Potter, Wood thought to himself 'Well they work well together and with others who are team players, so it looks like I have my two reserve chasers. Let's see about the other two first.' After more keen-eyed observation from Oliver Wood, he made his decision, following a magnificent fake-out from Parkes and a throw to Zoe who made the quaffle soar through the left hoop, scoring the eleventh goal between the two, compared to the measly 6 in total between the remainder of the contenders.

Up in the stands, Harry wondered how Zoe had gotten so good at being a chaser, after all when they played together with family and some friends, she had never performed this well, even when she was up against her father, the most celebrated seeker in Hogwarts history from the past century. Calling down the players and the people trying out, Wood announced that he would be conferring with his team. Gripping the broom handle tightly, Zoe shook with nerves and listened intently to his verdict. "The new reserve chasers are Benjamin Parkes and Zoe Potter!" Wood called loudly out so that the people watching in the stands could hear too. Barely containing her joy, Zoe rushed forward to shake hands with the team, who all thought that she and Ben had done brilliantly compared to the other two. Kenneth Towler merely hung his head in defeat, a mild reaction compared to the other person not picked. Cormac McLaggen growled in frustration and stormed over to Oliver Wood, cracking his fists to attempt to intimidate the older boy. The Captain stood strong and held his stance, keeping his face impassive. "WHY AM IN BEING SINGLED OUT HERE?! I AM IN A HIGHER YEAR THAN HER, NOT TO MENTION I PERFORMED BETTER THAN SHE DID!" McLaggen roared much to the dismay of all of the other three contenders. Wood calmly replied in a harsh tone "Watch it McLaggen, keep up the temper and you will never receive a spot, I will make sure my successor knows that. To answer your question, yes, you performed very slightly better than a _second-year, _however, she works better as a team player, along with Parkes. You not only did not heed my advice to not aim for just one hoop, but you also did not pass a single time during that tryout. Now leave my personal space, before I set Mr Potter on you."

In the time it had taken for the other trial to end and for all people to touch the ground, McLaggen had stomped over to the Captain and demanded a position on the team instead of Zoe. Angelina made her way over with the seeker and reserve seeker picks and joined up with Katie, Alicia, Oliver, Fred and George. Her choices stood next to Oliver's as McLaggen ranted on. After promptly telling Cormac that he had royally screwed the crup, Wood pointed out Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom, the star pupils of the Hogwarts Duelling club were pointing their wands dangerously close to his neck. Turning red with embarrassment or fear, hard to tell which, he shoved past the forming crowd and pushed Hermione to the floor with his rage as she stood right in front of Harry. Whilst most people present gasped in shock at the action and Cormac merely shrugged at the reaction, Hermione got up, dusted herself off and started to walk towards to fuming third-year. He sneered at the young witch and turned his cheek towards her. "What's wrong, come for my consolation kiss?" he asked in a sickly-sweet voice. Hermione took the opportunity whilst his eyes were closed and his mouth puckered. Gathering her strength, she body-bound Harry quickly whilst he was about to pummel McLaggen and drew her hand back. Rushing forward with all of her strength, she struck the older boy on the jaw with a major blow to his mouth. Cormac fell backwards, coughing up blood that dripped into his mouth and spat out a tooth, scowling at the immense power of a second-year's punch.

The crowd's reaction was a mix between hysterics and anger, laughing at Cormac for getting his arse handed to him on a silver platter served by Hermione Granger's fist and angry at such a blatant verbal attack on a 13-year-old. McLaggen sat on the ground, holding his broken nose and bleeding jaw, as he watched the Granger girl release Potter from his body-bind curse and help him up. "You are lucky McLaggen," Neville started "that Hermione froze Harry there. If not, you would be nothing more than a mass of broken bones and bleeding flesh because of you just pissed off one of the most gifted duellers and fighters that resides in this school below fifth-years. I hope Madam Pomfrey uses skele-gro on that jaw."

After the upset at the quidditch pitch, McLaggen was rushed off towards the hospital wing by his friends to see to his broken nose and jaw as Oliver Wood congratulated the four new members of the Gryffindor quidditch team. Zoe was overjoyed at the result and was congratulated by her friends relentlessly on the way back to Gryffindor tower, stopping at some of the glares and laughter in the halls to watch the reactions. Their head of Gryffindor house, Professor McGonagall was waiting at the portrait of Lady Elizabeth, the guard of Lion's Keep as most referred to it as and she glared sternly at Hermione before leading the four off towards her office as Deputy Headmistress. Waving Hermione in first, her door swung open and sealed itself after all four students were in. "I do not want to jump to conclusions, so please, tell me why you think I have you all here." She said, her Scottish accent thick with interest and some slight accusation. Zoe started "Well Professor, I highly doubt you were congratulating your new reserve chaser, so I can only assume that you wanted to talk about Cormac McLaggen. The boy who made a highly inappropriate and vaguely sexual remark to Hermione. Is that the true reason?" Zoe looked far too proud of that comment for Professor McGonagall to stay serious. As the Head of Gryffindor broke out into a small grin at thought of how similar she was to her father, James Potter. "Yes Miss Potter, that is what I was referring to, however, I do wish to congratulate you on making my team. I am sure you will do us all proud."

Turning to Hermione as looking slightly miffed, the Deputy Headmistress asked the young girl if the statement was true. "Yes Professor. The foul little git -excuse my French- had a bit of a meltdown at the Quidditch pitch." Looking to Harry for support, Hermione started up again when she saw him give her a faint smile at her profanity and gesture with his head at McGonagall. "He wasn't accepted onto the team and so he was very angry. He started to rant and went to storm off," All except Professor McGonagall stared at Hermione for lying, or more accurately leaving out the part of the story where they had seen Hermione freeze Harry with a spell after he and Neville pulled their wands on McLaggen. She continued, unaware of the looks of disbelief from her friends, "however, he pushed me over in his haste and went on to ask for a *cough* consolation kiss," Hermione noticeably was feeling ill from talking about the prospect of kissing Cormac, a notorious ladies man, despite only being thirteen. A look of anger from her boyfriend prompted Hermione to move on before Harry was sick or homicidal, whichever came first. "He leaned in and closed his eyes, so I took a shot at him for being so presumptuous and rude. Everyone in the castle who has any shred of sight has seen that Harry chose to be with me, though I still don't think I deserve it. And that is how McLaggen ended up with, I assume a broken nose and jaw?" Professor McGonagall shook her head at the mention of the injuries and recounted Poppy Pomfrey's diagnosis.

Two hours later, Harry still marvelled at the fact that Hermione had fractured the cartilage in Cormac McLaggen's nose and knocked two teeth out of his mouth with one swing of her fist, which was now bathing in a small bowl of murtlap essence. After asking more people including the entire quidditch team, Professor McGonagall had found out that Hermione's story had indeed been the truth, unlike McLaggen's, in which Hermione had been about to kiss him for not getting on the quidditch team, even though he was clearly the best and Harry had hit him with a blasting hex for stealing Hermione. The mere thought of that gave Hermione nightmares and made Harry actually throw up into a nearby bin before Professor McGonagall vanished the evidence with an evanesce and promptly went to berate McLaggen for his blatant disregard for others and his inappropriate actions toward a second year. Falling asleep that night was less pleasant than the previous one, as she had only one good memory of the day, which was pummelling Cormac McLaggen's ego into dust.

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I found this quite fun to write after the quidditch tryouts were officially over. I just don't really like sports, magical or muggle, especially writing them. They are so uninteresting to me. I gave Hermione an empowering moment, so she isn't quite as much of a 'damsel in distress'. I think that this is what McLaggen would have been like at this younger age, considering we see the his grandfather(?) in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald and he shares similar traits of talking without thinking and being brash.


	11. Chapter 11 : Peskiteacher Pesternomi

I don't own the story or the characters of Harry Potter, this work is entirely fan-made. The rights to everything Harry Potter belong to J.K Rowling.

Let me say a quick thanks to all of the people who are still following the story. To know that people still read my humble work is music to my ears. In other words, it means a lot to me.

I hope that you are all staying safe and sane whilst in the quarantine. This was such a fun chapter to write, that I did so all in one sitting, having my hands sore afterwards was well worth it for this chapter.

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The lessons during the next day were dragging too long for even Hermione's liking, as most of the students in the school had heard of Hermione Granger using muggle fighting methods on Cormac McLaggen for being the newly dubbed 'quidditch creep'. This had made many people walk up to Hermione in the corridors, the Great Hall, common room and classrooms alike to ask what had happened and if the rumours were true. Some people were actually glad that the girl had taken McLaggen down a few notches, however, lots of the bigoted Pure-bloods believed that he should have pressed charges as she was a muggle-born and therefore inferior to the 'victim' in this case. Of course, this again split the school into factions, those on Hermione's side, and those choosing blood-superiority over common sense. Surprisingly, Cormac McLaggen fell into neither category, not falling to his brethren of pure-bloods, but equally straying far from Hermione, in fear and embarrassment. The shunning and appraisal of Hermione continued for weeks, in which many people had swapped sides, defending Hermione as they saw how influential she was being. Many a teacher also started to favour one side, such as McGonagall and Flitwick, who would take every opportunity to take the strain off Hermione for as long as possible. Some teachers remained neutral, as to keep their social image intact, such as Professors Vector, Snape, Sprout and Babbling, though no-one was actively supporting McLaggen as far as the staff in Hogwarts.

Hermione had become a role model for the younger and older girls at Hogwarts, presenting her views on empowerment and sexual discrimination proudly to people who asked. The news had even managed to get out of Hogwarts that a female student had punched and harmed an older male student for being sexually inappropriate. An anonymous source of money and power had forbidden the newspapers from revealing the identity of either student involved, though Hermione had a feeling that Harry and Zoe had written home asking their parents for a large favour involving a certain newspaper that they owned over 60% of. Draco Malfoy had obviously voiced his opinions on the matter to the school, or more accurately, anyone who could stand to listen to him for more than a minute. He was still serving detentions with Professor Snape for the next month of November for his previous displays of racial abuse, but that doesn't mean he had to be_ seen_ doing his normal things.

Feeling that more people were on her side than usual, Hermione felt more confident that she would suffer no major repercussions from her stunt. In most cases, she was correct, however, she knew for certain that one teacher, in particular, didn't like her forward-thinking and strong-minded attitude. Gilderoy Lockhart was not known to like Hermione Granger in defence classes, as she would correct him and challenge his 'personal and right knowledge'. This was a nagging thought as Hermione walked into his class on that Thursday morning, as he glared at her when she sat down at her shared desk with Zoe. His look wasn't the normal fleeting ogle, but a full-on stare of annoyance and malice. What brought this on was a complete enigma to them all, but Hermione didn't have time to decipher all of the reasons, as the lesson had started. Today's lesson was on a magical creature, not quite a dark one, but one that requires a certain amount of skill to deal with. The Cornish pixie was a known annoyance to many witches and wizards not knowledgeable in containing them, as they had near-human intelligence and immense strength for a tiny creature. It was able to fly with its small wings and had only be known to be found in Cornwall, England, as documented in _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_ by _Newt Scammander_. Deciding to have some fun with the class and to further humiliate Miss Granger, Lockhart set the pixies loose from their cage and watched from his balcony in his office as carnage ensued.

The Pixies had gone straight for the people in the front row of the class, seizing children by their robes, hair and ears, before promptly dropping Ernie MacMillan and Fay Dunbar from about 2 metres off the floor. Zoe and Harry cast a cushioning charm at the same time, doubling the strength to account for the height. "Molliare!" they cried together and the Hufflepuff boy merely grunted at the gesture as Fay rushed out after profusely thanking the siblings. Neville in the meantime had also been picked up by two pixies and deposited on the chandelier as the two nuisances flew off to swarm Lockhart's remaining class population. Justin Finch-Fletchley was holding onto the hem of Megan Jones' robe whilst trying to pull her down to earth as she screamed from having her hair yanked by pixies. The tiny, blue devils had swarmed around Seamus Finnigan, Dean Thomas and Parvati Patil as they cowered in fear behind a bust of Gilderoy. Their teacher in question was busy lounging around on his balcony and decided to toy with the students even more by giving them a fake spell for them to use to subdue them: "Try Peskipiksi pesternomi on them, though it is a powerful spell and I don't know if any of you could perform it as I have before many a time." Hermione scowled at the suggestion, as that most definitely wasn't a spell. Just breaking the words down, a person with a semi-functioning brain could tell that it wasn't derived from Latin, so would very likely not work. 'Pesky, Pixie, Pester, No Me, what a lousy excuse for a spell' Hermione thought as she recounted her knowledge of the textbooks.

"Guys, use Immobulus, it should freeze them long enough for us to catch them!" Hermione shouted over the major din of the pixie's constant squeaking. 'Shit. Just as it was getting good.' Lockhart thought as he started to pack up his bottle of butterbeer that he had bought for such an enjoyable occasion. Neville had floated down from the ceiling thanks to Harry's use of the levitation charm and started helping others with reigning in the pixies. Lockhart sighed in annoyance as the Potter twins, a botanist and a muggle-born know-it-all bested his methods of 'teaching' and with the help of their brain-dead class managed to spoil his fun for yet another day. Maybe he would invite Miss Chang over again and have some alone time with her. As Neville put the last pixie in the cage, he and the rest of the class scowled at Lockhart, though the girls were likely going to be quick to forgive him if he looked at them and flashed a gleaming smile, which he did. Still, three of the girls noticeably didn't return the look. Hermione, Zoe and Hannah Abbott simply retained their grimace of disapproval, making Lockhart blanch at losing another impressionable young girl to the brains of the smartest witches of their generation.

"I'm glad we all enjoyed this little exercise of ours, so you are all dismissed for the lesson. None of the boys moved a muscle, Hermione and Zoe stayed perfectly still and Hannah stepped back, instinctively grabbing Neville's hand, and realising what she had done, dropped it again, but remained by his side. Seamus began first, "Professor Lockhart, that wasn't really an exercise was it? I mean, none of us learned anything apart from Hermione knowing the right spells from charms class for the right time." The Defence Professor couldn't fault Mr Finnigan's logic, however, tried to make them leave anyway, none-the-wiser. "Well, Mr Finnigan, while you are right in saying that wasn't a proper lesson and was more fun, you are wrong in the other regard. We learned that Miss Granger doesn't listen properly to my instructions and should, therefore, lose twenty points from Gryffindor. The boys in the room bar Harry and Neville took the hint in anger and left, leaving five fuming students left. Harry had remembered to keep his mouth firmly shut in these instances but couldn't stop his magic from reacting to the anger brewing inside him. As his body vented his displeasure with Lockhart, the wooden desk started to shake and implode on themselves, splintering the fibres and intimidating the Professor. Lockhart's numerous busts and statues around the room started to shake and crumble under Harry's anger and the glass in his portraits, including the one of himself painting another portrait of himself, started to melt and make the people in them quiver as the canvas started to burn.

Gilderoy Lockhart was nothing if not thorough, so he saw another opportunity to discredit the intelligent young woman. "Miss Granger, how dare you ruin my room! Detention for an hour next Tuesday!" he said, feigning innocence and internally laughing maniacally. "What?! You can't do that! We'll go to the Headmaster, as that is utter nonsense and you know it!" Zoe cried, in turn silencing the real culprit of the destruction from speaking out. He put on another mad face using his acting abilities and declared another detention for Zoe for speaking out against him. "Okay Professor, I am very sorry for using wandless magic to destroy your room," Hermione whimpered, using a mock pout to insult him further. With Harry and Neville shaking her by the shoulder to silently dissuade her from taking the punishment, Hermione turned and the others followed suit out of the classroom. As they closed the door, Hermione smirked and told them all why she was acting so innocently and following orders: "Think about this Harry, while Zoe and I have a 'detention'," -she made bunny ears in the air- "We can figure out what he is up to when he invites all of the Hogwarts ladies to his office." Agreeing with the method, Zoe, Neville and Hannah all went off to dinner whilst Harry grabbed Hermione by the shoulder again, this time, using a more vice-like grip to get her attention. "Hermione, I know you think this is a good way to expose him, but seriously, do you remember what Cho Chang looked like after she had walked out of his office a month ago? What if something happens and he hurts you," Harry actively had tears forming in his eyes after thinking of just that nightmarish idea. "What if he does something to make you comply with something, like the confundus charm, or the Imperius curse? I've also heard that he is gifted with memory charms, alteration and reduction. I couldn't bear to lose you or Zoe to that greedy, creepy, bloody-well dangerous man. Please at least let me be in there with you. I can use the cloak a-and the map, or-or a-a disillusionment charm? Please?" He begged as she felt almost afraid of him now. Hugging Harry, she made a promise "Ok Harry, but we will go to Professor McGonagall or Dumbledore about him the first chance we get if we find something out."

Dinner was a troubled affair, as Harry stayed silent throughout, something wildly rare if Zoe was the judge. The only time he was ever silent after a meal or a day is when one of two things happen: if their father had a dangerous raid or important mission that day, or when matters of safety were dreadfully important. Both of these traits had been inherited from their Auror father, as he was taught to be aware and vigilant at all times. Zoe assumed it wasn't the raid route, or they would certainly have had correspondence from their mother first about a mission, so that left the safety of others as the primary reason for the depressing mood. "Harry, I know what you think about our plan, but it will be fine. I can curse Lockhart to all hell and Hermione will probably berate him to death before he can even flinch. It will be fine, and if it isn't, I have full confidence that you will incinerate him before he does any more damage." Zoe joked, only half kidding about the incinerate part. Hannah, who strangely ate with them this evening, let out a laugh as Neville looked on into Harry's eyes from across the table. All he saw was bloody murder if something were to go awry.

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So yes, we delve deeper into the Gilderoy Lockhart story. It will be a main focus for the next few chapters alongside the ongoing Dumbledore suspicion arc. Rest assured that no characters will be safe from this part of the story, but for anyone who knows about Larry LaSalle, _that_ will not happen to our main protagonists. And if it does happen, may your harshly-worded reviews rain down upon me like hellfire.


	12. Chapter 12 : Misplaced Loyalties

I don't own the story or the characters of Harry Potter, this work is entirely fan-made. The rights to everything Harry Potter belong to J.K Rowling.

I hope that people are still reading this, and for those that are, thank you for sticking with it. I hope you are all staying safe and indoors if possible. For key workers and the health services, especially the NHS over here in the UK, we all salute you and thank you for the work you continually do for all of us.

The story continues in chapter 12: Misplaced Loyalties

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"Headmaster, please? You must see reason. He has done nothing to teach us, apart from releasing Cornish Pixies to have a pint of Butterbeer! He isn't a teacher, he is a pretty-boy with no discernable talent for education!" Harry nearly yelled at his bespectacled Headmaster. Gazing into the eyes of the young boy, Albus noticed a twinge of rage seep into his mind. Attempting to read it, the Headmaster was thrown mentally back into his body by Harry's occlumency shields. 'You thought that an Ancient and Noble house didn't teach it's heirs and heiress' occlumency? You really must be deranged Dumbledore'. Instead of voicing his very rude words to the man, Harry was more polite in his pleading. "Sir, we have learned nothing from him. Professor Snape has taught us more than he has, and as I recall, he has mastery in both Potions and Defence. Why could he not teach us in the subject that is arguably the most popular and useful in these current times?" Once he had said it, Harry knew he had revealed he knew more than he had let on. Quickly rectifying his mistake and distracting the old codger, Harry apologised "Sorry, Sir. I didn't mean to overstep my boundaries. I just want us to get a proper education. We need a proper Defence teacher."

Peering curiously down at Harry Potter over his half-moon spectacles, the senile Headmaster refuted Harry's opinion. "Harry, my boy, you haven't made the greatest impression upon all of the teachers at Hogwarts over the last year and a bit. And although I believe he is very slightly biased against you, I am quite sure that Professor Lockhart is capable to teach his lessons how he sees fit. Have you read one of his books? Marvellous, quite marvellous I must say. Turning a ghoul into a beautiful woman to humour the beast and then reverting it into its hideous state to anger and confuse it, absolute genius!" The man insisted, unaware of Harry's gaping mouth at the Headmaster's dismissal of Lockhart's terrible teaching. "But Sir, don't you think that his books are even slightly outrageous? He has argued against his own words several times in the blasted text." Harry could see that he was beyond reason. Not that he was entirely in the wrong, as getting another this late into the term would be quite difficult and educationally straining on the students. Sighing, Harry gave up and bade the Professor an albeit miffed "goodnight". Leaving the office and quickly walking down the stairs, he met up with Neville. "Anything?" he asked Harry. Shaking his head, they left for the common room. On their journey back to the Lady Elizabeth portrait guarding their common room and dorms, Harry and Neville came across a smattering of Slytherins huddled around something. A girl was lying face-down on the grass in a common area across from the charms classroom. The girl bore the sapphire-blue robes of Slytherin and had long blonde hair that seemingly reached her waist. "Is that… Luna?" Harry muttered surreptitiously to himself.

The Slytherins were not in Harry and Neville's year but were comprised of the Quidditch team and their captain, Marcus Flint. The captain smiled an evil grin at Neville which made him shiver and move back a few paces. Harry was undeterred by this and bent down to see the girl. Turning her over, he saw not the dreamy, far-off look of Luna Lovegood, but the unwilling stare of a sixth-year he had seen with Percy Weasley. The twins mentioned her as Penelope Clearwater and a muggle-born for that matter. The Slytherins gave nasty grins to the boys as they went to move her. None of the team was willing to help. They just sat on a bench and jeered. "Oh look. The heir of Slytherin has struck once again. My, my, Mr Potter, what would your disgustingly Gryffindor parents think of this." Miles Bletchley shouted, earning malicious laughter from his teammates. Professor Flitwick had noticed the boys from across the hall as they carried the girl on their shoulders to the hospital wing. "Mr Potter, Mr Longbottom, what are you doing with Miss Clea- Put her down now and run to the hospital wing, I will carry her from here." At the inquisitive looks they gave, he said "Well with magic, of course, boys. The Mobilicorpus charm. And you twits," He squeaked, pointing at the guffawing Slytherins "Thirty points from Slytherin for not helping an injured student!" Flicking his wand, the diminutive Professor sent her body levitating to the hospital wing at a steady pace that he could keep up with if he jogged.

Madam Pomfrey was certain in her assessment, that the cat and Miss Clearwater were both petrified by the same person. Her usage of the word person whilst shooting a glance at Harry was taken into account by Neville, who was waiting until Harry could leave after being grilled by Professors McGonagall and Flitwick for details. All that he could catch were the occasional reprimand of "Mr Potter!" and the cries of Madam Pomfrey who had threatened to curse the Slytherin Quidditch team. When the teachers seemed to be done, Harry was dismissed after being checked for anything suspicious himself. "Poppy, please. While his circumstances were questionable, you can't believe that he, a second-year could do this, do you?" They heard Flitwick say when they thought the boys were out of earshot. They were not. Neville was the first to speak into the silence as they walked to the common room with orders to speak nothing of this to their housemates. "Harry, you can't think that they're right. They aren't. You can't have done this, to the cat or Penelope Clearwater. And if you start moping, I will set Hermione on you, she'll put a stop to it." Earning a chuckle from Harry, he gave the password to the portrait and climbed through the hole to the common room.

The look that Harry had gotten from Professor Dumbledore was clear. The twinkle in the old man's eye was there again, another attempt to break into Harry's mind. 'You can't do that Professor. It doesn't work when you are trained in occlumency from the age of 9.' Harry said to the man in his head, seemingly throwing him off as he looked confusedly at the young boy. He gave the order to speak of the incident to no-one and assured that the Slytherins would be dealt with. Not trusting the old man, Harry just hoped that in his age he would forget the attack himself. As he climbed into bed on that Friday evening, he made a vow to himself that he would fight against Professor Dumbledore if he needed to. The thought crossed his mind, being the rebellious boy that he was, that he should tell the Rogue Society of not only the attacks but of Dumbledore's attempts at Legiliency on him. It would help them defend against his senile mind that was full of secrets. Waking in the morning saw Harry's attitude dry up again, as Neville woke him from his sleep. "Harry, it's half-past 10. You have to get up now, or ill get a glass of water and tip it over you. You know that I'm true to my promises." Harry grinned and picked up his glasses that rested on the bedside table. "Morning Neville. I had an idea last night that I need to tell you and the girls."

"So you want to tell the rest of the Society that Dumbledore is untrustworthy? And just how well do you think will go? They aren't going to believe you, at least not all of them. It will take some convincing." Hermione said, astute as ever. Considering her words, Harry had another thought that could help set all of their minds straight. "What if_ we_ don't say anything. If we told someone else about his attempts at legilimency, we could corner him legally. Attempted/successful, unlawful legilimency on not only a minor, but an heir to an Ancient and Noble House is a serious crime; it can send someone to Azkaban for about 14-85 years depending on the severity of the situation. However, if this works, considering that Dumbledore is the Supreme Mugwump and has his other tacky titles, I would wager that he has firstly a good defence attorney and some leverage to help 'sway the opinion of the masses'." Harry recounted with perfect recall, owing to his and Zoe's constant lessons of the Ancient and Noble houses along with politics. Hermione gaped at his knowledge of politics and his extremely cunning plan. "Harry, that was incredibly smart, not to mention quite devious. Are you sure you shouldn't be in Slytherin?" He smiled at her and framed his look with an almost evil grin. "Ok, well. I am most certainly on board, but we will have to plan this very carefully and make sure that some back-up ideas, just in case." Neville asked the question on everybody's mind right now: "So what do we tell the Society, where do we tell them, and when?"

October the seventeenth was the date of the meeting with the Rogue Society. Harry and Neville had spent nights upon end researching the best place to hold it, a place where no-one snooping could get into if someone was already there. Zoe had resorted to asking the elves in the kitchens if such a place existed in Hogwarts or the grounds. The little creatures had some suggestions, not all of them being good or safe ones. One was the shrieking shack that lay upon a hill outside of Hogsmeade that was accessible through a passage in the Whomping Willow. That option was struck off the list before Harry had even heard it as it was too dangerous to even attempt to get into, nevermind not getting caught, they didn't want to be turned into mincemeat. Another was something called the 'come and go room', but the elves wouldn't give up the secret of how to get into it as they said they were bound by Professor Dumbledore not to reveal the location. The final place was the recently vacated third-floor corridor that had housed a large Cerberus the previous year. It had been cleared out by the Professors and the corridor had a room at the end of it which could be used as a place to meet in secret, without having to venture off the Hogwarts Grounds or bully an elf into spilling a location.

The four had arrived early on the morning of that Saturday to help prepare the room for the arrival of the Society. Hermione had taken to transfiguring some sticks to make a rudimentary table and some chairs to accommodate the guests more suitably than a cold, stone brick floor. Harry stood at the front, facing the table and had a dignified presence about him that Hermione admired with great interest. The first person to arrive was Cedric Diggory, closely followed by Cho Chang and Roger Davies. "Punctual Ravenclaws" Neville sniggered to Zoe as Cho shot him a glare and Roger laughed along with it. The thirteen seats around the table filled up quite slowly after that. Susan Bones took a seat next to her fellow Hufflepuff Cedric as Ernie MacMillan followed her. Hannah went and took the side of Neville that wasn't occupied by a laughing Zoe. Blushing, she sat down next to him and socialised as they all waited on the final guests to arrive. Daphne Greengrass took a seat at one end of the wooden table and Tracey Davies sat down next to her. The final guest, a second-year student who had been sorted this year due to health concerns in his family took his seat next to Hermione. The boy was a Slytherin called Alexander David and he was a half-blood whose mother worked for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and whose father was a muggle architect. Harry started to speak up as the meeting began. "Now, I don't expect all of you to trust me implicitly immediately. That is simply not going to happen. I am sure that you are all of the opinions that Professor Dumbledore is a wise and powerful wizard. You are wrong."

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Oh I know, I am so bad for leaving you on this cliffhanger, but all of the meeting will be revealed next chapter as I find that political scenes in fics are quite fun to write, especially matters of the Rogue Society from the Point of View of the four.

As you may notice, I have introduced a wholly original character in this chapter. This is to test my character writing for someone other than Zoe that can have brand new traits and personalities. Also, he sort of represents me in a way, as I am a Slytherin who does not possess the some of the arrogant, bigoted personality (I think at least). Slytherin gets a bad representation in the books, possibly because Rowling made the house so unlikeable. However, despite this glaringly obvious fact, I am a firm believer that your house does not make you superior or inferior *cough Hufflepuff *cough Slytherin :)


	13. Chapter 13 : Research

I don't own the story or the characters of Harry Potter, this work is entirely fan-made. The rights to everything Harry Potter belong to J.K Rowling.

Another week, another chapter. Thanks for the support on the story so far. I would like to point something out to anyone reading this before reading the Fight of Two Generations, that story is completely finished, so I won't be updating it again. The reads and reviews are still quite appreciated though.

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"Albus Dumbledore is not to be trusted. He was and is a powerful wizard. His mind, however, is addled by time and grows weaker by the second. He still holds great power over the students and the teachers alike. We have seen first hand what his powers can do. He is an accomplished wandless legilimens and occlumens." Harry spoke with gravity to the group. Most knew how powerful you had to be to perform wandless legilimency without being born with it. The rest of the finer details were gone over by the four Gryffindors. Harry's confident tone was all he needed at this point to get them all on board. "We should all know how to get people into Azkaban for even reading an heir or heiress' mind. However, as he attempted it on me, we can also throw in charges of underage legilimency, or attempted at least. This is how we take the old man down. Onto slightly more pressing matters, the Heir of Slytherin has struck again." Gasps reverberated around the echoey room as everyone but Harry and Neville exhaled in surprise. "How can you be sure Harry? It's not like the teachers have been addressing it." Cedric asked. Neville replied in a grave tone and a small voice. "We were there, as were the Slytherin Quidditch team. We don't think they did it per se but it could be a possibility. A sixth-year Ravenclaw called Penelope Clearwater was the victim. So far, we only know of the state that they are in, petrification. No-one has died from any attack yet but we fear that it may be only a matter of time." Neville let that final comment sink in.

"So what can we do to prevent attacks? Is there any way to ensure that we aren't petrified too?" Terry Boot asked, quivering slightly. Explaining the only hints so far, Hermione guessed that nearly anyone in the castle could be attacked, especially those outside of Slytherin. "The victims thus far have nothing in common apart from being in the wrong place at the wrong time. That's nothing to go on in terms of identifying the next victims or the person responsible. The only thing we have that could lead us to the person responsible is the method of attack, petrification. However, the spell must be really strong, as a rennervate spell does not affect them." Hermione was clearly very invested in the Heir and his or her trail of attacks, as lots of the people in the room had deduced just by looking at her and listening as she described the attacks and both victims' states. Harry broke the silent tension by ending the meeting for the first day and bidding the rest of the students goodbye as they ambled off to lunch. Only Harry and Hermione were left to pack up as they miniaturised the furniture with reducio so that they could easily hide and transport it. "Harry, I'm worried. What if the person doing this makes Dumbledore shut down the school like in 1943-" Hermione said and then gasped before answering Harry's confused look. "The school was shut in 1943 after a girl in Ravenclaw died due to petrification. How did I not remember that? I need to do more research on this. Come with me to the library after lunch?" Harry smiled at her thirst for knowledge and possibly the first real lead on the attacks. "Yes, of course, I want to catch the person just as much as you do."

-Elsewhere in the castle-

"Alright, I'm going. I am. Stop pressuring me, Tom." Ginny said as she walked to the bathroom on the 2nd floor, squabbling with her diary as she had been doing for the last day. "Okay, what did you want to tell me?" She asked as she pushed the door closed and walked to a stall. He answered back in his calming voice "Do you remember the girl that you saw with your brother, Ginny? Penelope Clearwater, blonde, half-blood?" Wondering what he was getting at but seeing red as she remembered vividly the person that turned her brother against her and made him angry with her for the first time, ever. "Yes, that one. Why, what of it?" She asked back with malice in her voice.

"She was found petrified in the east common area by the charms room. Harry and Neville Longbottom found her and took her to the infirmary with Professor… Flitwick I think." Ginny squealed with joy on the inside at first but then the reality of it sunk in. She was petrified, like Mrs Norris. Unsure if the methods were the same, she inquired "Like Mrs Norris the cat?" Tom replied "Yes. The very same one that caught you here and brought that oaf of a caretaker that got you in trouble."

"Wait, how did you know that she was petrified before I did Tom?" Ginny asked, slightly scared.

"Oh, I can hear everything, all over the castle, I used to live here remember." He said, unable to indicate any smirk but pleased all the same.

"Oh, who's there, chatting away in the toilet? Having a private conversation are we?" Myrtle giggled as she peered down at Ginny, who was trembling and angry at the powerful object she held in her hand. "SHUT UP MYRTLE! JUST SHUT UP!" Ginny screamed as she ran from the bathroom, not before throwing the black diary in Myrtle's direction, making a small spray of water run over the floor.

-Library-

"Can you get that stack of books for me Harry, I think there may be some merit in reading the books meant for older years, especially if it is a student here doing this?" Hermione told Harry as he grabbed the 5 large tomes, readily cleared of dust by Madam Pince the librarian. "The person doing this must have really powerful and advanced magic to be able to petrify people without leaving a spell trace. If Madam Pomfrey can't detect a trace of magic from a wand, then whoever is doing this must know wandless magic or a strong deletrius charm." She continued as if she hadn't been deep in thought for two minutes prior. Harry gazed at her and smiled at the wonderfully smart girl in front of him. Hermione caught on to his staring and snapped "What? Do I have something on my face?" Saying that made Harry smile further and grin like a Cheshire cat. "No. Nothing on your face. I was just thinking. Do you realise how pretty you look when you're thinking?" Harry said, blushing as he complimented her. "Thank you, Harry, but we really need to get back to researching the attacks. Ah, here it is." The book that she had picked up was a book that he knew all too well.

_Hogwarts: A History _was Hermione's favourite book on the magical world and she read it at least once every month to its fullest. The book's owner was addicted to it for its insight into the magical aspects of the school, being a muggle-born student was not easy after all. Hermione knew the text back to front and inside-out by now, so remembering the only recorded closure of the school was almost as easy as recalling her own name. _"_Harry, look at this_. Myrtle Warren, a muggle-born student from Ravenclaw house, was killed by a beast of unknown origin on the 13__th__ of June in the year 1943. She was found in a bathroom on the second floor of the castle by a boy named Thomas Riddle, a prefect at the time in his fifth-year after he discovered the door open and the girl stone-cold and dead upon the floor on one of his Prefect rounds. The headmaster at the time, Armando Dippet, described the attack as a 'sad and unfortunate loss of potential at such a young age'. The supposed perpetrator was later caught by the aforementioned Thomas Riddle and expelled with his wand snapped. His guilt is supposed because the creature was never caught and was only said to have been a small yet magical beast. The student's age, name and house were omitted, but Riddle revealed that the person was a half-blood of giant and human descent. Professor Albus Dumbledore, the Transfiguration teacher was rumoured to have been close friends with the culprit and had apparently taken pity upon the boy and believed his innocence. This was the only known closure of the school of Hogwarts in its entire lifetime and was only opened the following year after thorough checks by the Ministry of Magic."_

Hermione waited on Harry for a reaction, one which she received after she snapped her fingers to wake him from his frightened stupor. "Hermione, didn't you say that there was a ghost in the bathroom on the second floor? One, in particular, that moans and wails a fair bit?" Harry said, waiting for her response. "Ye-Yes, why?" He smirked at his own intelligence for a moment and replied: "Well, what if the girl who died never left, after all, wouldn't she want to haunt the person who did that to her?" Hermione snapped the book shut and grabbed Harry's hand before trying to pull him up. "Hermione, you don't seriously think that I will go into a ladies lavatory, do you? Take Zoe, besides, Neville and I have a date with Draco Malfoy at the Duelling Club." Hermione shook her head and mumbled something that sounded like "boys" and went off to wait for Zoe to finish quidditch practice. Harry rushed off in the opposite direction to find Neville in the courtyard with Hannah Abbott, both discussing the uses of mandrake leaf chloroplasts in bloating draughts. "Hey Nev, we going to the duelling club today? You're welcome to come as well, Hannah." Harry asked, panting slightly from his run to the pair. "Ok, let's go then. Neville, we can talk about the mandrake's later at dinner or something." Hannah replied, pulling Neville to his feet as he sighed and started to stretch for the duelling arena and the two-on-two tourney today.

The teams were mainly friend groups for the two-on-two match-ups, the first pairs being Weasley and Weasley vs Diggory and Davies. Fred and George were the perfect team for two of the finest duellers in the Hogwarts fourth years. Cedric Diggory and Roger Davies had been practising their skills against each other in their Defence classes which were mainly for Gilderoy Lockhart's entertainment. Everyone in the school knew of his substandard teaching but were too busy practising with each other to know or care about his false achievements and awards in duelling and Defence. Fred cast a leg-locker curse with precision whilst George blocked a tripping jinx aimed at his brother from Roger. Cedric broke the shield with a flurry of stunners and managed to cast a freezing charm on Fred's wand arm, locking it into place for Roger to disarm. George was at his brother's aid too slow as the Ravenclaw opponent expelled his wand from his hand, catching it deftly as Cedric repeated the action on his twin. Professor Snape declared the winners of the match and moved onto the next match-up of Finch-Fletchley and Bones vs Parkinson and Goyle.

The deadly pair of Slytherins would not hold back against the Hufflepuffs and as soon as Lockhart, acting as referee sealed the shield charm around the duelling platform, they unleashed a barrage of hexes that would make a normal person quiver at the speed of their mouths. Quiver they did as Susan put up a weak shield charm that was broken through almost immediately. Justin released a spout of courage and cast some stunners at the two, though his aim was terrible in the face of danger. Susan was toppled by a pushing charm, her wand rolling to Pansy in the process as Goyle looked at Malfoy, nodded and used a snake summon spell, shooting a black serpent from his wand tip. Justin trembled as Snape struggled to get the shield ward down at the first sight of the snake. Harry reacted faster and more rashly than the Potions Master. Speaking in Parseltongue, though only he knew what it meant, he spoke the words "_Leave him. You will not attack him. Focus on me. On my commands._" Harry had revealed his ability to speak Parseltongue.

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Yep, Harry is still going to be an outcast, which will pay off later in the series around the time of the Order of the Phoenix.


	14. Chapter 14 : Parseltongue

I don't own the story or the characters of Harry Potter, this work is entirely fan-made. The rights to everything Harry Potter belong to J.K Rowling.

Thanks for support on this story and the previous instalment, which is still getting reads, favourites and reviews.

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The hiss that Harry produced was like a silencing charm was applied to room in its effect. Everybody went silent with shock and fear, for no-one had been a parselmouth for decades in Britain, the gene thought to have died with the death of the Gaunt family in 1943, as they were some of the last living descendants of Salazar Slytherin in Europe, the others being the Sayre family until the only surviving member Isolt, moved to the states. "Vipera Evanesca!" Professor Snape yelled, breaking through the wards at the same time as shouting the snake-banishing spell. He stared limply at Harry, as did everyone else in the room. Neville cringed with the revealing of his secret but understood the necessity of it. The person that the snake had turned on, Justin Finch-Fletchley, was not in the same frame of mind as Harry. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU PLAYING AT?! TRYING TO SET THE SNAKE ON ME! TAKING OUT THE COMPETITION BEFORE IT GETS TO YOU, POTTER?!" the Hufflepuff boy shouted, still reeling from the shock of the snake turning to him. "What, no? I told it to leave you alone and to focus on me instead. Are you deaf?!" Harry asked incredulously. Neville was next to Harry and whispered into his ear, "Harry, no one else can understand Parseltongue here unless they have the ability too. No one heard anything but a bunch of hisses, that sounded violent as well." The Great Hall erupted into chaos, trying to grab at the boy now swiftly leaving the hall and rushing to the dormitories. He went to grab the one person he needed right now, his sister. Whilst Harry ran and avoided people on his path to the dorms, Neville and the members of the Rogue Society were dealing with the people clamouring to get to him. Cedric and Roger locked the doors with twin shouts of colloportus and Neville tried to direct attention to himself to distract them all from Harry. Cedric and Roger had succeeded but Neville had yet to gather the attention of the mass crowd. Gilderoy Lockhart foolishly dismissed the club for the day before Professor Snape locked the doors again after the other referee opened them. "Anyone attempting to hurt Mr Potter or badger him WILL be spending the rest of their free time this year with me in detention. UNDERSTOOD?!" Severus shouted at them all, some gaining sullen-looking faces and some growing angry with the Potions teacher.

Harry dashed to the common room, wearing a frown and scowling at Justin. 'How could he think that I would try to hurt him for a stupid competition?' He thought as he reached the portrait. Speaking the password, the painting swung open and allowed him through to find Hermione and Zoe doing some potions homework. Looking extremely flustered was a sight to behold, as Harry normally kept his cool in situations that normal people would crack under the pressure of. Hermione noticed immediately that Harry was stressed and ran to him as he struggled to keep his anger in check. His hair was flaring different colours due to the stress he was under and it turned quickly from Weasley red to its normal jet-black as Hermione hugged him. Relaxing under her embrace, he managed to get out the words needed to describe the situation. "Hermione, Zoe," he said, looking around to see if anyone else was listening "everyone in that hall knows I am a parselmouth. Parkinson conjured a viper at Justin bloody Finch-Fletchley and I distracted it long enough for Professor Snape to banish the thing. Then the prick who I saved turned on me and said I was trying to be rid of 'competition." Harry breathed out, nearly seething with rage. "As if I need to be rid of him, Neville and I would kick the shit out of him if we faced him!" His breathing slowed to a normal rate, just to be raised again by the arrival of Neville and the Weasley twins who sealed the portrait behind them. "All hell just broke loose Harry, we need to be careful," Neville said, out of breath from the running.

The owlery was crowded with avians of differing shades of brown, white and black as Zoe stepped into the freezing tower. Finding her friend among the school and student owls, she whistled for Sidera to fly down to her for a message to their parents. Stroking the feathers on Sidera's head, Zoe handed the owl a letter, describing what Harry did by accident and what they could do as a family to contain it. "Go on girl, you need to do this as fast as you can fly, alright? Go to Mum and Dad with this. I'll see you soon." Zoe said as she placed the letter in the grasp of her owl. Meanwhile, in the third-floor corridor, with sealing and privacy charms on the door, Harry used his Christmas gift from his uncles Sirius and Remus to make a call with his godfather. "Hey, Pup, what's up? I was beginning to think that you would only use this in emergencies." Sirius joked as he set the mirror against his table, with a book to prop it up with. Harry replied with a guilty look. "We haven't told you something that we found out over the summer. I-I'm," the boy stuttered out. Sighing, he relented to his own conscience and told his godfather the truth. "I'm a parselmouth. We didn't want anyone to know about it, considering the predominantly negative views on parseltongues, but I accidentally gave the whole duelling club a show this morning." Sirius looked slightly shocked but started gathering his wits again after the initial surprise wore off. "Well, we need to stop this from spreading but how do you plan to keep it from escaping Hogwarts?" he asked, looking thoroughly interested now.

"Well, Neville and I surveyed the room again and saw that the main two sources of gossip from second-year were there, as was the person known to release damaging information to his family in sixth. We think that the chance of all of this being contained within Hogwarts is likely minimal. So the next step is to stop the info from reaching the press. That can't be stopped by us so we have sent a letter with Sidera to Mum and Dad, who we hope can entice the press to ignore anything on the Potters that comes from anywhere but the family. If that doesn't work, we know we can stop the information from leaking out of the Prophet, since we own more than half of the shares in their earnings and can pull the plug on them easily. Independent reporters might still have the opportunity to get the facts out, especially one that we have to keep an eye on." Harry said, compiling his findings and methods into a concise plan. "Rita Skeeter is that one person isn't she?" Sirius asked as Harry nodded back. "She gave my uncle a field day when my cousin Andromeda got married to Ted Tonks. Anyway, I think your plan works, though I am slightly miffed that you guys didn't tell me and Moony about your abilities as well. Well, I have got to go, I have a date in a few hours, got to get ready, though I'm already quite dashing. Madam Bones will be all over me I reckon." Harry raised an eyebrow at Sirius' sense of humour and revelation that he had a date with the Head of the DMLE. "Down boy, down. See you later, Uncle Padfoot." He said to his godfather after jokingly admonishing him.

Joining back up with Neville, Zoe and Hermione, Harry told them discretely about his mirror-call with Sirius and explained the rest of his plan which he had already detailed to the marauder. Risky as the plan was, it was really the only option to go with, as the Hogwarts rumour mill was legendary. The way that information about any one person could seep out and be known by the entire castle the next day was unrivalled. This theory was put to the test and proved to be true the very next morning. As the four walked into the Great Hall for breakfast and Harry rubbed the sleep from his weary eyes, even the deafest person on earth could have heard the silence fall upon the students. Normally they would be talking merrily, waking up and eating the various breakfast items laid out on the table but now students from each house quivered as Harry walked to his seat in the middle of the Gryffindor table and the Gryffindors themselves parted and moved away from the parselmouth. Hermione shot the hall excluding the teachers a sharp glare and sat on Harry's right as Zoe took his left and Neville her left. Watching the boy take his seat was nearly heart-breaking to Professor McGonagall and put a further sneer on Gilderoy Lockhart's smug face. Before Harry could get angry at the people staring holes into the back of his head, Professor Dumbledore intervened and tried to gain Harry's affection back after destroying their relationship when denying Lockhart's poor teaching. "Please give Mr Potter space to work and leave him be. He doesn't want any trouble, and those seeking it shall find themselves speaking to his head-of-house. Now, eat up, young whippersnappers." The final order was too stupid for Harry to pass up laughing at. 'First, Dumbledore dares to garner me more attention by telling people to ignore me and then gives more inference to him being bloody senile.' He thought as he snickered along with the rest of his friends at Dumbledore's words.

Transfiguration was fairly normal, or as normal as it could be. Some of the Slytherins would jeer and call him the usual names and as normal, Harry was unaffected. This was until Theodore Nott passed him on the way out of the classroom, whispering to Vincent Crabbe "Watch out, here comes the Heir of Slytherin to petrify you too. Oh wait, nevermind, he went for the mudblood and the squib again." Crabbe roared with laughter as did Pansy and Millicent Bulstrode alongside a guffawing Gregory Goyle. Draco Malfoy kept his usual sneer but was not laughing or taking the opportunity to agree with Nott about Hermione and Neville. Harry shrugged his bag off his shoulder and made to charge toward Theodore with a malicious glint in his eye but was stopped by Professor McGonagall's watchful gaze. Instead, Harry took to glaring daggers in the backs of the Slytherins for the rest of the day and everyone knew why.

Sitting on the sofa in the Gryffindor common room, Harry fiddled with his wand as he watched flames flicker in the hearth. Thinking about the new rumour of his ancestry was tough to think about, especially since Hermione had discovered his family tree to the Peverell family. The family was thought to be extinct in the male line and had ended with three brothers called Antioch, Cadmus and Ignotus who were notably in Slytherin house. While Ignotus did not descend directly from Salazar Slytherin, his brothers did and so the Potter family was distantly related to the Slytherin family, though not through blood. This disproved that Harry was the sole Heir of Slytherin but then again, no other blood relatives were known to have survived past the Gaunt line. Doubting himself was not a common theme in his life, yet Harry was doing it very well at this point. Hermione, seeing that Harry was brooding -or maybe moping- wandered over and took a seat next to her boyfriend and threw a blanket over them as they huddled together on the plush, red sofa. "Harry, you are not the Heir of Slytherin, you know that. Even if you were, that doesn't mean that you have done anything wrong. You didn't petrify Penelope or the cat, or draw haunting messages on the wall. You are my completely normal, lovable Harry that you have always been." Reassured of his humanity, Harry cuddled up closer to Hermione and kissed her forehead, whispering back "Thank you."

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Next chapter is the confrontation with Lockhart in Hermione and Zoe's detention. In short, Harry is a descendant of a distant relative of Slytherin, but isn't directly related, so therefore, he has no doubts on his innocence. And because Harry is a Parselmouth and accidentally reveals it in the original story, he is assumed to be the Heir of Slytherin, so the same goes for this story as well.


	15. Chapter 15 : Detention and the Detained

I don't own the story or the characters of Harry Potter, this work is entirely fan-made. The rights to everything Harry Potter belong to J.K Rowling.

Thanks for the support on the story and if anyone would like to know anything or give out any kindly worded criticism, please do not hesitate to do so.

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The time that Harry had been dreading was nearing, Hermione and Zoe's detention on Tuesday night. He had seemed on edge the whole day and all three of them knew why. Hannah had some idea of Harry's protective instinct but she was not about to interfere with a family matter or when it came to potential danger. Neville and Harry had planned out the evening excursion very carefully and made sure that no-one in the common room saw. Colin Creevey made that incredibly difficult to do, as he kept trying to get pictures of Harry and what he was doing nearly every waking hour in Harry's presence. His incessant 'cries' for attention were duly noted by the two young Marauders and by a Weasley that was skulking in the shadows at the edge of the room. "Hiya Harry, what are you working on? Is that some defence work? Can I take a picture, I really need some help with Professor Lockhart's class?" He would say each evening but Harry, like tonight would not reply, though Colin seemed to see that he was not in the mood to help with work. What Harry was told by Neville, sitting next to him, was that his eyes seemed to glow and the air was beginning to thicken with the magic swirling around the room. This caused Harry to snap to attention and control the angry magic that was swelling within him. Another thing to calm him was the arrival of Hermione and Zoe from the girl's dormitories.

"Well, it's nearing seven, so we should go to detention. See you later boys." Hermione said, convincing enough to make any eavesdroppers think that they were simply going to Professor Lockhart's room. Neville replied with an equally convincing lie of him and Harry going to the dorms to practice some charms for Professor Flitwick's class. Harry and Neville instead went to fetch Harry's trusty invisibility cloak from his trunk as Neville changed out of his Hogwarts robes into something more suitable for duelling, as Harry had done, just in the off chance that a duel arose. A solid four minutes passed before the four regrouped at Professor Lockhart's door, with the boys being cloaked in the silvery material that made them invisible to the eyes of anyone present. Zoe knocked on the door and seconds later, the slider opened and revealed blue eyes and stray locks of blond hair. The slider shut as the door was unlocked, giving the four people a view of his classroom under candle-light. The air was thick with the scent of lavender, which was admittedly a nice touch for detention. Since the outburst of Harry's magic, the paintings had been restored to their former glory, posing like an action hero and painting more portraits of himself in their frames. The statues of his face and the desks were all repaired after they had been shattered and Harry was tempted to break them again in his next practical class with Lockhart, just to satiate the bloodlust he had for him, even for just a few minutes.

"Well come in then, girls, I won't bite. Now you two are going to be doing some chores to help prepare the classroom and then you can help me to sort through my owl letters for fan mail. Understood?" Gilderoy said, flashing his teeth as Hermione and Zoe gingerly stepped over the threshold. Harry and Neville kept a safe distance under the cloak after the door closed behind them. Lockhart continued "Let us start with you two putting up the duelling platform over there for your lesson before lunch tomorrow. Finish that with no hassle and I will reward you. Off you go." Hermione grimaced at his idea of a reward and Zoe visibly paled. Harry noticed his sister's discomfort and nudged Neville to look at the two girls that were busily gathering the platforms. Lockhart spoke up with another order "Oh and girls, don't use magic to do this, or it isn't disciplining then." Harry quietly growled at the man as he rested his boots on his desk, which had a noticeable crack down the middle from where he had split it in half. Zoe and Hermione were not very strong and even between them, the assembly of the duelling platform took well over an hour when an erecting charm could have done it in no more than 5 minutes with just Lockhart himself doing it. By then, Hermione had been panting and Zoe was sweating from her neck up, due to exertion. The school uniform was conservative normally, but the dastardly man had surreptitiously shrunk the girl's clothes to entertain himself. That made Harry fume and Neville nearly throw-up in disgust at his actions. While Hermione doubled over in tiredness and Zoe almost copied her, Lockhart levelled his wand at their heads and flicked it, saying "You two look very hot and bothered, you should take your jumpers off." Harry's jaw dropped and Neville had to physically restrain him from clobbering the pervert; they needed more evidence yet.

As Neville and Harry crept around the room, the latter still fuming and threatening in his mind to blow Lockhart's head from his shoulders, they realised Gilderoy's plan. He wanted to tire the girls out so that he could use charms and spells on them without resistance. The confundus charm was dangerous when meant with careful intent as Lockhart surely knew and the two Gryffindor girls were suddenly putty in his hands. Dragging the garment over her head, Hermione discarded the jumper on a nearby desk with glassy eyes as Zoe repeated the suggestion, albeit slower. " What about those ghastly ties and your top buttons, you must be sweltering." Lockhart said, getting his 'kick' out of undressing the two hopeless cases. Harry was suddenly out from under the cloak and had cast a stunner at his head, alerting the Professor to his presence. He tackled the unaware Professor and proceeded to crack his fist into the side of Lockhart's skull, making the blond hair flail wildly. Neville ran to Zoe and Hermione, whose hold under the confundus were broken as they came to their senses. Hermione started to crumple to the floor, weeping as Zoe threw up, seeing her state of sweat and undress. Catching Hermione and drawing the two girls into an embrace, Neville promised them that nothing too bad happened, though he didn't know how to quantify 'bad' in Harry's eyes. Looking over to the boy in question, he noticed a horrifying sight, that made Zoe retch again and Hermione run to him with outstretched hands. "Harry stop! You'll kill him, please, STOP!"

The cries of his beloved brought Harry back down to earth, rather than the hell he was making rain down upon Gilderoy Lockhart. Harry stood up, blood on his knuckles as Lockhart groaned in agony on the floor, covering his battered, bloody face with one hand and cradling his bruised delicates in the other. Hermione looked down at the mess Harry had caused with just his hands and saw the bulge in the folds of Lockhart's lilac robes, one that she had caused by being weak-minded. "Harry. I'm so sorry," she sniffled as Neville held Zoe up with his shoulder, staring at the bloody mess that was Lockhart. "I-I should have listened to you. If I wasn't so weak then he couldn't ha-have made us do those things. Just stop hitting him, please, you'll get into more trouble?" Harry, eyes now back to his normal green after they have blazed orange and yellow that reminded Hermione of Emperor Palpatine from her father's Star Wars movies, had begun to relax into Hermione's hug and realised that he had done nothing before Lockhart had demanded their top buttons undone. "No, no Hermione. It was my fault. I- I lost sight of what we were here to do. I should have intervened long before I did or you and Zoe wouldn't have had to-" He shook his head and shivered at what the creep had done. Neville took Hermione and Zoe to Professor McGonagall as Harry cleared up some of the mess. Wiping his knuckles on a handkerchief, he stood over Gilderoy Lockhart's quivering form and looked the man over. Normally so confident, so arrogant and fancy, now he was reduced to a shaking husk of a fraudulent insect. A mere 12-year-old did this to him and emasculated a creepy pervert. Lockhart thought in his head 'No this is no ordinary second-year, it is Harry bloody Potter and I pissed him off!'

Professor McGonagall was shocked to find three of her prized pupils out of bed at 8:45 in the evening and was further horrified at what those three had told her about a renowned member of the Dark Force Defence League. Though she could not deny any facts as both Miss Granger and Miss Potter were very shaken, pale and in similar states of undress that they had said Professor Lockhart had put them in. Marching to the hospital wing with a swift pace and being flanked by three students, Minerva wondered how they had told Albus of their suspicions and he had done nothing about it. Poppy Pomfrey dropped her vial of pepper-up potion from her fingers and immediately ushered the two girls into the nearest beds possible. Scanning their bodies, she had concluded that the kids were telling some extent of the truth, that they had been put under immensely powerful compulsion and confundus charms that had coerced them into doing things that they had not consented to. Whilst the girls were checked for any signs of further magic use on them, Minerva tailed Neville Longbottom to the Defence classroom to find that Lockhart was tied to his chair, one that wasn't in splinters again, as many of the others were, sporting large bruises on his normally charming face with thick, scarlet blood seeping into the crevices of his face, in his mouth and a gash on his cheek. Her eyes went wide when she saw Harry Potter crumpled on the floor near the chair. "GILDEROY LOCKHART, WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS!" she shouted, rivalling the sheer volume of Molly Weasley's howler to her son. After performing a reviving charm on the young lad, she saw the tears that had been streaming down the boy's face only minutes earlier. "Potter, please tell me the same thing that Mr Longbottom said is untrue." He replied feebly, "If Nev said that I beat this piece of shit to a pulp after he tried to undress my girlfriend and sister, then he is not lying."

"You must understand, Headmaster that this behaviour is inappropriate," Gilderoy said whilst trying to convince the wizened Wizard not to fire him. "Those two girls tried to make me do things to them, it- it-it's outrageous. They tied me up and threatened to hit me if I didn't do what they say. Then Miss Potter's brother walked in with his friend and started to hit me." McGonagall and Pomfrey both stared at the man in shock and some small amount of awe. He was managing to tell lies with a straight face to the most powerful wizard of the century. "I don't want Mr Potter and Mr Longbottom in my class anymore and those two girls are to spend detention with me for the rest of the year for their actions. Don't worry, I have some spells to keep them in line." Professor Dumbledore seemed to see what the man was saying and was nodding his head. "Minerva, Poppy, these two girls could easily have done this to Professor Lockhart with their combined strength and Mr Potter certainly seems to have a temper that doesn't bode well for himself. As such, I do believe that what Gilderoy is saying should be taken into consideration." Professor McGonagall was fuming now, as the man believed Lockhart but kept a level surface composure. "I think that you should all return to bed and we should forget that this ever happened."

"See Headmaster, that is where you are wrong." Came the voice of Amelia Bones, the head of the Department for Magical Law Enforcement. Following her, were James and Lily Potter and the two Granger parents. "Gilderoy Lockhart, you are under arrest-" Amelia said as Lockhart cried out in dismay "-for the attempted molestation and rape of two underage witches, amongst other allegations of sexual harassment. Albus Dumbledore, you are under arrest for the continued negligence of minors and aiding and abetting a criminal. Anything you both say can and will be used against you in the court of the Wizengamot."

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All will be explained in the next chapter.


	16. Chapter 16 : Terrors

I don't own the story or the characters of Harry Potter, this work is entirely fan-made. The rights to everything Harry Potter belong to J.K Rowling.

Thank you all for your support of this story, especially in such troubling times. I hope you are all staying safe and being respectful of others boundaries.

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"You require help Albus, you aren't well. I cannot tell you how to run the school, but I would hand it over to Minerva now in the chance that you will be found guilty. The other option is letting the Ministry hire a headmaster that will behave far differently to yourself. If found guilty, your possessions shall be put in your vault or your brother's vault," Amelia informed as she slapped a pair of familiar-looking cuffs that suppressed magic and passive abilities such as the animagus and legilimency. "You are too old for this kind of work now." She said, leading the two away with her Aurors. Professor McGonagall caught up quickly with the five people marching off and begged for a few moments with the old man. "After seeing the evidence to support the allegations, I have no choice, Albus. You will no longer be welcome on Hogwarts grounds as Headmaster without full backing from the faculty and the board of governors. What you have done is too severe. Your personal belongings will be sent to your vault in Gringotts or your brothers if you are convicted guilty. For what it's worth Albus, I do hope you aren't incarcerated in that hell-hole, Azkaban." The Potters and Grangers were left with Minerva to see their respective children. "Very well, if you will follow me to the hospital wing. Poppy has checked your daughters for any more compulsion and confundus charms and so far, they seem to be more or less alright. However, I would commend Mr Potter for his bravery and Mr Longbottom was very helpful in apprehending that vile man." The doors to the hospital wing flew open at Professor McGonagall's thought and the matron beckoned her over with vigour. Whispering to the new interim Headmistress, Madam Pomfrey let off some steam as she read over her findings again. "Mr and Mrs Granger, correct?" She asked Hermione's parents as they nodded. Hermione was eager to see her parents but scared of their reaction to the situation that she got herself into. Leaping off the bed to see her parents, Hermione rushed into her mother's arms and looked at her father over her shoulder. Switching hug partners, she walked up to her father and collapsed into his arms, crying at the thought of leaving Hogwarts because she was too stupid to think about the consequences of such an endeavour as catching the sick and deranged man.

"Please listen to me before you make any decisions about her future at Hogwarts," Zoe said from one bed over, startling her father with her tone, a direct and commanding one. Smiling at her, James sat down on her bed and listened to what she had to say about Hermione as the Granger parents listened intently in. "Look, Hermione is not at fault here. The only people that you have to blame are in handcuffs, being escorted out of the castle by the police. Without Hermione to help us all, we would probably be dead or in that horrible rat's clutches right now. We can't thank Hermione enough for being strong and intelligent through everything she has been through. The brightest witch of the age they call her, did you know that?" Zoe paused, mid-thought and carried on as Daniel and Emma looked sheepily at their only daughter. "She broke records last year for the first and even some of the second year material in the exams, took on a troll, stopped us three from being poisoned and saved us from a strangling plant all in the space of one year." Harry was stirring as his sister recounted their previous year and the fun they all had. "Miss Potter is quite correct, your daughter did break records that haven't been set for nearly a century, not to mention the fact that she is a model student. I can also assure you that I, the next in line for Head of the school will make significant changes to ensure the student's safety." Professor McGonagall vouched. Harry chose this moment to wake from his magical exertion induced sleep and shot up as Madam Pomfrey began frantically waving her wand over her patient. Lily was still shocked at her level of skill when it came to healing and diagnosing. "Her…mion…e," Harry uttered out before falling back to the pillow and letting go of his mother's hand.

"Professor McGonagall, you are the deputy Headmistress, right? So when you succeed that old fool, will the school be safer?" Emma asked sternly to the Scottish woman. "If I become the Headmistress, the school will become safer for all people, however that may take some time. I can assure you that Hogwarts is far safer than any muggle school in Britain for a witch, especially one-" she started to whisper so that only the adults could hear "who is still… maturing and because emotions are out of control sometimes, so will her magic be. We can prevent outbursts and therefore damages and injuries here. I won't lie either, her social status in the wizarding world is quite dangerous. As a person born of muggle parents, she would be a target out there, and would be significantly safer with her teachers and friends. And as I understand it, Mr Potter is quite taken with her." Daniel Granger looked sceptically over at his daughter, his only daughter in the arms of the sister she never had. Zoe and Neville were comforting her and attempting to console her as her _own_ parents threatened to take away the one thing she had always liked about herself, her uniqueness. "Hermione, we don't want to take you away from here, truly, we don't. However, you must see how worried we are when you come home, barely phased by a troll attack that nearly killed you. Or when people are being frozen at your school in the vicinity of you. Or hell, you were nearly molested for christ's sake, we just," he sniffed and wiped a solitary tear from beneath his eye "we want you to be safe, as well as happy." Emma and Hermione were left wide-eyed by his actions, he never cried. He had shed a tear only once in his life with a wife and daughter when Hermione was born. Never once, had Hermione seen her father weep with sadness. "Honey, we'll make a deal, if Professor McGonagall can ensure us that those two men will never again have a place in this castle, we will not think twice about letting you continue here until you finish. If that Lockhart bloke is seen around here again, we may have to discuss alternate schooling. Surely you can see where we are coming from." Emma said, whilst a pair of green eyes bored into her soul, searching for a lie that was not spoken. When he found none, Harry leaned back in his bed and closed his eyes, once again drifting off to sleep with nightmares of Hermione leaving fluttering around his brain.

As soon as the adults left to give the children time to rest, Harry leapt up out of bed and limped over to Hermione, leaning on the leg that hadn't been bent forwards when attacking Lockhart. Jumping into her arms, he squeezed her and refused to leave her side, feeling attached as if with an almost impenetrable sticking charm. "Hermione, it will be all right, I'm sure that Professor McGonagall can handle the school well enough for you to stay. I wouldn't sacrifice your relationship with your parents over it though. If Zoe and I had lost our parents on that night, we wouldn't know what to do." Looking over at Zoe, Hermione saw the girl nodding and agreeing with what Harry said. "Rest assured, we won't be apart. We'd come and see you if you had to go, we all would. Neville would say the same, as would our parents. They love you too, you know." Zoe finished. Trudging over to her bed, Zoe laid down and tried to sleep without nightmares of the horrible man called Lockhart. Harry climbed off Hermione's legs that were underneath the covers and kissed her forehead.

"Goodnight, Hermione." He said as she sighed peacefully and drifted into the realm of slumber, dreams of a black-haired man and herself in eternal happiness together. Though, when she woke up, he wouldn't be a dream.

Harry and Hermione both woke in the middle of the night to hear Zoe screaming and writhing in her sleep. She would shout "NO! NOT THERE! LEAVE ME ALONE!" and whimper until Madam Pomfrey was at her bedside, placing doses of dreamless sleep potion on the table next to her. She was warned that she would probably have worse nightmares than either of the other two residents of the hospital wing tonight, as her legilimency abilities made her see what Gilderoy Lockhart had planned for the girls, in addition to what he had done to so many before them. Cho Chang and Pansy Parkinson were just two of the many 'conquests' that the disgusting man had achieved. The crowing of the Hogwarts roosters was enough of a wake-up call for anyone, it even seemed to shake the castle itself, right down to the pipes and dungeons. When day broke, Zoe rose from her bed, shaking and looking white as a freshly laundered sheet. Hermione was in a similar state, though she was not moving from her huddled fetal position on the bed in the hospital wing. Harry shot up and tried to go to console his sister and girlfriend, but was promptly pushed back down onto the bed by Madam Pomfrey, who was casting charms and looking at readings all at once. "Right then Mr Potter, no running or strenuous activity on that leg for the next 24 hours and you should be back to normal. Certainly no more heroics for at least a month if you can manage." Harry smirked and gave a normal Potter smile. "I'll try not to move it for a day, but no heroics, that's taking away my charm. I can't say I'll do it but I will try. Thank you." Tending to her other patients, the healer cast a wandless and silent charm around the two other occupied beds which drew the curtains, limiting interaction. Subsequently, all Harry heard were muffled voices and the occasional sob from Zoe. Begrudgingly, Harry threw on his uniform and used breath and clothes-freshening charms to get ready. He waited outside the curtains for what seemed like an hour but was more likely a quarter of an hour.

They will need to stay with me for some more evaluation Mr Potter, that includes the next few days, but you may come and see them in the normal visiting times. Now, off to breakfast, or tat leg will have no natural nutrients to repair the cells. I mean it, go now." She commanded sternly, internally admiring the young lad for his dedication to his family and… friend? Harry looked down and headed to breakfast with a slow step until he saw Neville waiting by the doors to the Great Hall. He waved Harry over but knew better than to ask about Hermione and Zoe's condition. Walking into the large room, he was greeted by the scowling faces of many a student and one or two teachers. "Still the pariah of Hogwarts I see. Good to see that they don't know how badly we beat that perverted prick up, especially since the girls would be on our cases like that." Harry punctuated his last words with a snap of his fingers. Sitting down at the table, the two heard the main gossip of the school and groaned loudly at it. They heard Lavender Brown say "I heard Professor Lockhart and Dumbledore were taken to the ministry to deal with the Heir of Slytherin and Potter situation." Gasps littered the surrounding area and word started to spread like wildfire. Harry had had enough of the ruse "You know what I heard, Lockhart was taken by the DMLE because he was arrested and Dumbledore went with him because he employed the idiot!" He growled out fiercely to the crowd. One Hufflepuff who was listening in on what the local news was retorted "Yeah, and why do you think that, because you don't want to be ousted as the Heir of Slytherin and because those two people are the only ones magically capable of beating you?" The boy was yanked back onto the Hufflepuff table by Cedric who gave Harry a look of apology and berated his friend. Just after that, the usual Slytherin crowd came over, many others in tow. "So Potter, what happened to Professor Dumbledore and Lockhart? Was it you who scared them off with your petrifying powers?" Pansy Parkinson sneered whilst Draco Malfoy and Ron Weasley readied their own jeers at her side. Before they could spew them, McGonagall had the foresight to make a speech. "Attention, attention. If you would all make your way to the house tables please!" She said before the Slytherins promptly sat down and she continued. "Albus Dumbledore has… gone into his retirement phase and I will be taking over his position. If anyone would like to bring up any further questions about _teachers,_ they may do so in private and with me _only_."

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This will not be Dumbledore's exit from the story, though it doesn't seem promising for the old guy in his trial. He may pull a few political strings or not. Wait and see.

P.S Check out u/hastyhand on reddit. Recent fanart is great. Amazing artwork, not only for Harmony, but from Avatar: The Last Airbender, which i have recently binged and I am now in love with the show. :)

-E


	17. Chapter 17 : In Defence of Severus Snape

I don't own the story or the characters of Harry Potter, this work is entirely fan-made. The rights to everything Harry Potter belong to J.K Rowling.

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The majority of the hall had been happy about the new Headmistress, except for the Slytherin contingent, considering that the Headmistress had been head of Gryffindor house not 24 hours earlier. At any rate, the houses would be more unified, even if unity didn't happen immediately between Slytherin and the rest of the school. "As some may know, Gilderoy Lockhart was escorted off the grounds last night. He shall no longer be teaching here at Hogwarts." The Professor said, trying to contain her anger at that man. "Whilst we find a new teacher, anyone below the fifth year will be taking a lesser amount of potions lessons to compensate for Professor Snape teaching Defence in another teacher's absence. Professor Snape, thank you for volunteering. Thank you all for listening so… _intently_. Now eat up because classes will not be cancelled on account of the recent changes." She finished and sat down to her breakfast. Professor Snape now looked quite content and almost happy from where Harry and Neville sat. "Harry, do you think that Snape looks far too happy with that announcement?" Neville asked worriedly. "Mum said that he was excellent at Defence Against the Dark Arts in school and wanted the job before Dumbledore denied him it. I suppose he just got what he deserved." Harry shrugged and continued eating his cereal. After breakfast was coincidentally Defence with Professor Snape... and was perhaps the best lesson they had in Defence in their entire time at Hogwarts.

The lesson had begun with Snape showing them some charms that would come in useful in a fight, not a duel, as that was the entire purpose of the duelling club. Protego, expelliarmus and stupefy were all shown in detail, right down to the enunciation of the incantation, which reminded Harry of Hermione in their first year in charms. Instructing them to write down all of the possible methods of avoiding unfriendly spells, the Professor actually helped the students who needed the extra help thinking of ways to block. "I shan't issue homework as it is your first proper defence lesson, but anyone who wishes to gain ten extra house-points can practice the shield charm in preparation for your next lesson." Gone were the Professor's usual sneer and bored/malicious tone and they were replaced with a helpful demeanour and a kinder, more gentle voice. Their next lesson was Transfiguration with Professor McGonagall and most were glad that kept her job as the Transfiguration teacher. The rest of the day proceeded as normal, except with the glaring absence of Zoe Potter and Hermione Granger, two witches still in the hospital wing for psychological evaluation. Gladly the reason for their being there was not spilt yet but was more and more suspicious when Cho Chang, Marietta Edgecombe and Katie Bell left their herbology lesson with Madam Pomfrey. When Neville and Harry visited Zoe and Hermione in the hospital wing after lessons, the other three girls were still there and Cho Chang was crying. Marietta and Katie were by her side, comforting her in a supposedly traumatic time. Madam Pomfrey rushed to Harry and asked gave him a request from Cho "Mr Potter, could you please find Mr Diggory and ask him to come here, of Miss Chang's request?" Harry obliged and ran off to find Cedric, seeing that Hermione was asleep at the moment. "I'll be back soon Hermione. I-I love you."

An embarrassed Harry found Cedric in the library, studying for Professor Snape's defence class, reading a tome about offensive dark curses and how to block them. "Hey, Cedric. Umm Cho is in the hospital wing and called for you. If it was me, I would go, she seems very upset and I think she needs your company." Harry said in a low voice so that he wasn't kicked out of the library for being too loud by Madam Pince. Cedric paled and packed up his things, slipping the library book into his bag and letting Madam Pince know he was borrowing it. "Ok, let's go, Harry." Upon arrival at the hospital wing, Cedric ran over to Cho and held her hand, unknowingly blushing as he did so. Harry made his way over to his own girlfriend and sat on the chair next to her bed. He saw Zoe lying awake in the bed next to Hermione's and asked how she was feeling. She replied with a tired voice "Doing as well as I can, what with getting no sleep. Anyway, what did Hermione and I miss today?" Harry told her about the new defence formula and her favourite teacher ascending to Headmistress, whilst keeping her Transfiguration and head of Gryffindor positions. As Harry mentioned 'no homework' from Professor Snape, Hermione's eyes fluttered open and Harry turned around, not seeing Zoe's smirk of mirth. "Harry, why did you say that we had no homework? That isn't like Professor Snape." She said whilst pulling herself into a sitting position.

Harry leapt from the chair and hugged her close to his body as she reciprocated the gesture. "Ok, not that I'm complaining, but what's this for? You saw me last night." She said groggily. He talked into her shoulder "I just missed you, alright. It felt weird not having you correct my spelling in charms today. Professor Snape is teaching us defence and potions at the moment, with the idea that we have fewer lessons of both to compensate for only having one teacher for two subjects." They talked about the day and the homework that Professor McGonagall in Transfiguration. Neville also told the two about the extra points available for practising the shied charm for the next defence lesson. Neville left for dinner at 6:30 and Harry told him that he would catch up and he needed to talk to Hermione in private first. Grinning, Neville left the hospital wing and went to dinner, leaving Harry and Hermione in the presence of a seemingly sleeping Zoe.

Harry started by beginning with "I said I missed you today and I meant it. I don't want to spend another day worrying about you or Zoe because I love you both. Uhh.." Harry stopped and his eyes widened as he realised what he had just said to Hermione. She grinned and held his hand "I didn't want to spoil the surprise, but I know. You already said it before you left just a bit ago. I heard you say it when you thought I was sleeping. I am offended…" Hermione said, smirking as she saw Harry look down in shame. "I want to be awake and both of us aware next time you say that. I love you, Harry." She said, smiling her best grin. He looked back up and smiled back "I truly love you, Hermione. Thank you." Harry whispered back before he did something preposterous. He kissed her, their lips intertwining in their own dance of love. A small cough interrupted them, turning their cheeks a deep pink. Madam Pomfrey looked down at the two with a smile. "Oh don't be embarrassed dears. You forget I have been here for over 20 years, I have seen everything in this ward, some things too polite for young ears such as your own. I just wanted to tell Mr Potter that he and yourself, Miss Granger, need to eat, and you are free to go back to your dorms tonight if you wish. If not, Miss Granger should please remain for dinner here." Hermione happily got up and when Harry was outside the privacy screen, she changed into her school robes again. Joining him on the walk to the Great Hall, she noticed that Cho Chang was crying into Cedric Diggory's shoulder. Frowning slightly, she bade goodnight to Zoe who waved goodbye after calling after them, "Don't be caught in a broom closet too late guys!" Harry and Hermione flushed crimson and Zoe broke down into sniggers at that. She noticed that it even cheered Cho up a bit.

The next day saw Hermione awake at her normal time, awaiting Harry and Neville at the bottom of the staircases with no bags under her eyes, indicating a fairly substantial amount of sleep, something that made Harry internally sigh in relief. Hermione got a feeling that Professor Snape was enjoying his new job, as he was less impartial to the Slytherins and was more helpful in potions, correct the subtle mistakes that some people were making. She saw just how good of a teacher he was in defence as he performed an in-depth analysis of a shield charm and what it takes to strengthen it. "Mr Potter, I believe you said you had done the extra credit work, did you not?" He asked with no slight to his tone. "Yes Professor. I did, the question is, do you think you can beat it." Harry shot back with a playful smirk. Rising from his seat, he noticed that Snape was holding back a smirk himself. "Oh I assure you, I can beat it, though I do not doubt that your father taught you shield charms as well as he did teaching you to have the gall to say such a thing to a Professor. He would be proud, perhaps I shall tell him of your behaviour, or your mother? She would not accept that level of respect now, would she? Now, use a stunning spell on me to demonstrate a shield first." Professor Snape levelled his wand as Harry gulped and fired a strong stunning spell at his teacher on the duelling platform. He did not want to have Snape tell his mother about his 'cheek' as McGonagall would constantly say his dad had. The jet of red light started to make the shield crack and cave in, but it held and the two spells dissipated with a flourish of Professor Snape's wand. 'Showoff, using non-verbal spell cancellation'. Harry thought. Another voice appeared in his head as soon as he thought those words. 'Indeed, I am quite a bit of a showoff, aren't I Mr Potter.' Harry's eyes went wide as he saw Professor Snape making direct eye-contact with him and realised that he was a natural legilimens, pushing thoughts into his head.

"Well done on that stunner, though I didn't expect it to be so powerful. Let us test your shield now Mr Potter." He said, nearly grinning from the reaction to his mind speak. "Protego" Harry uttered and a bright blue shield, not unlike the one Professor Snape had used sprang up between them both. Without warning, a bolt of red energy sizzled and cracked Harry's shield, pushing the young boy back a few steps as he tried to maintain it. "Well done. That was a far superior shield than I have seen any second-year use before. Though it stills pales in comparison to a grown witch or wizard's. Take 10 points for the shield and 5 for the stunning spell well executed. Now go and sit back down." The class watched as Harry Potter was put in his place and most of the Hufflepuffs sneered at the defeat of him at the hands of Professor Snape. He caught people staring at the boy and couldn't help but feel sorry, as he knew who the actual heir of Slytherin was. "Alright, has anyone else practised the spell for extra points." Hermione raised her hand but Professor Snape waved it away. "Miss Granger, I appreciate your constant ambition and your desire to learn, but you were just released from the hospital wing. I am not allowed to let you practise any magic or duelling that could cause you harm, Madam Pomfrey's words, not mine. Ah, Mister Finch-Fletchley. How about you show us a demonstration of the charm." Justin had raised his hand eagerly and scowled as he watched Potter perform the charm almost perfectly. After the class was over, he approached Harry in the hallway and expressed his opinions on him and Hermione. "You two are such know-it-alls. Really, for once, just let someone even come close to outshining you. Granger is slightly worse, but you Potter are just annoying. I'd almost ask why, but I know. You just want all of the attention don't you, you and your perfect little teacher's pet." Harry rushed forward to attack Justin for insulting Hermione when Professor Snape intervened and deducted the 10 points from Hufflepuff that he had just awarded Justin for attempting to learn the shield charm and equally gave Harry a glare that seemed to say 'Don't make things worse'.

After dinner, everything went awry. Justin Finch-Fletchley was found petrified behind a frozen Sir Nicholas in the west corridor by the Hufflepuff common room.

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Quick little plug, I have updated The first story in this series called 'The Fight of Two Generations'. THIS IS THE FINAL TIME I WILL ADD A CHAPTER TO IT. It isn't exactly a chapter, but it is the full story of first-year, with some changes and improvements, here and there.

Yes, the title is a play-on-words. 'In Defence' refers to Snape's teaching position in the story. However, I am trying to make Snape seem like less of a 'bad-guy', though I am a firm believer (usually) that he was way too snappy, rude and unfair in the canon.

For those who read the chapter before I updated it, sorry for the glaring mistake in the last paragraph. I was unsure whether Justin was a half-blood or muggle-born, so I have changed what he said to Hermione to 'teacher's pet'. Thanks to nsaifnabi for pointing it out :)

Stay Safe

-E


	18. Chapter 18 : Shutterbug

I don't own the story or the characters of Harry Potter, this work is entirely fan-made. The rights to everything Harry Potter belong to J.K Rowling.

Times were tough but I know that we can work through this together, one step at a time. My contribution is this story still getting regular updates, despite having multiple projects going on for this site as well.

Anyway, enjoy!

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The student populus was in an uproar. Another child had been attacked by the monster. Justin's quarrel with Harry Potter was old news by now, and even after a month had passed when there had been no more issues with the Heir of Slytherin, people still felt that Harry was to blame for their misfortune. Some of the teachers had even taken a side in the drama. Professor Sprout would now stand further away from the four Gryffindors in herbology and Professor Babbling would swerve around Harry in the halls. The Society was unaffected by the rumours and stayed loyal and faithful to Harry, even when the rest of the school was against them. It was a wonder that Professor McGonagall hadn't told the press or the ministry about the attacks. It was as if she was Dumbledore reincarnate. Nevertheless, Hogwarts stayed well away from the Potters if they could help it. Since the attack at the start of December on Justin, Harry had taken to being solitary in class, not even engaging with his friends until he had to. The only things that didn't change were the bonds that he had with the other three. Hermione was still as caring, kind and thoughtful as ever, Zoe was still teasing the two about their newly cemented relationship and Neville had remained the loyal and fierce brother that Harry had always needed in Zoe's absence. 'Hogwarts is in danger and once again, I am at the root of it.' Harry mused.

"Mr Potter, please answer the question!" Professor McGonagall said annoyedly as she woke Harry form his brooding. "Sorry Professor, uh," he looked at the question on the board that she was pointing at. "The incantation would be Vera Verto but can be changed to suit the caster's need of the item," McGonagall stared at him, knowing that he wasn't paying attention. "Correct in the first answer, so five points. However, the incantation cannot be changed to suit the caster's need. The intent of the spell matters when forming different objects. Mr Potter, if you would kindly see me after class please." She carried on as the Slytherin contingent snickered, laughing at the Gryffindor hero get taken down a few pegs. The class went as horribly as was the new normal, having even some of the Slytherins performing the spell better than him, though, Daphne, Tracey and Alexander didn't boast. Harry noticed that Ron Weasley had even performed the spell before leaving the classroom and made it clear to Harry that he didn't care what people said about him, but he also didn't care enough to say anything in retort. 'Fair enough' he thought as he waited for the class to leave the room. Professor McGonagall locked the door and erected silencing wards to stop unwanted ears from eavesdropping with a swish of her wand. "Potter. I understand the rumours going about, but I can't stop them. Even as the Headmistress, they will all take time to get used to my authority. Until such a time when that happens, I cannot dispel any of the murmurs going around about your lineage. Meanwhile, your classwork is lacking in its lustre. You used to be a prize pupil, but you have let yourself slip. I don't mean to sound like Profess- Albus Dumbledore, but your emotions need to stay in check, especially whilst you are around your peers. For the sake of your work, please, think about what I am saying. It will benefit you in the long run." She nodded and waved the young lad off, telling him to get to Potions fast.

"Potter, nearly late, be careful you do not end up like your godfather and be a constant truant." Professor Snape told him with a small smirk, hiding his ire for Sirius Black. Harry just glared at him as he did with McGonagall, tired of the lectures and belittling. "Today we shall be preparing ingredients for the swelling solution, similar to the bloating draught, but affects something without having to ingest it. Mr Malfoy," he said, raising his eyebrow at Draco "you would do well to learn this one, otherwise, you could be made a fool of again. The instructions are as follows." He wrote down the ingredients and preparation on the blackboard with a flick of his wand and the class scrambled to get the items necessary for the potion. "Hermione, you get the bat spleens and the dried nettles from the cupboard and Harry could you get the puffer-fish eyes?" Neville asked, as he prepared the cauldron and stoked a small fire underneath it with incendio. Harry and Hermione brought the items over and began to prepare and measure them into correct states and quantities. The class passed faster than normal but was still quite boring nonetheless. 30 minutes came to an end and Professor Snape set stasis charms on the ingredients for the next time they were in the class.

Considering the student's attitude towards Harry, it was a surprise when Colin Creevey walked up to Harry as he was eating his lunch beside Neville and Hermione; Zoe hadn't yet been released from the hospital wing. "Hiya Harry. It's so cool that you can talk to snakes and defended Justin as you did in the duelling club. I don't think that you are the Heir of Slytherin of course, you just aren't the type. You're not evil or in Slytherin, umm you… Uh… Do you think I could get a picture today?" He rattled off lots of words and made Harry's head spin, not enough to lose consciousness or the ability to tell Colin to go away though. "No Colin, not today," Harry growled, trying to keep his anger in check, though the boy didn't listen. "Please Harry, it would mean a lot if I could send my little brother one of them. I'm sure you can meet him when he comes to Hogwarts." Harry's eyes told the boy that today was not the right day for this. However, he decided to tell Colin himself. "No Colin, I don't want a picture, I don't want you to have a picture of me, and I want to be left ALONE!" He got up and stormed off to have a walk on the grounds. Neville and Hermione offered to come with him, but he waved them off as the rest of the hall watched a severely pissed-off Harry Potter walk out of the hall with many sniggers and jeers being made in his wake. His friends looked at each other, knowing to leave him alone when he was like this. On the way to Gryffindor tower to get his cloak, Harry noticed a stream of water coming from around a corner. The girl's bathroom on the second floor was leaking water from under the door. Pushing it open, Harry called into the bathroom, "Hello, is anyone in here?" The only reply he got was an angry cackle from a ghost that was sitting up on one of the windowsills. "Come to throw more things at Myrtle have you? Oh, it's you." She sighed with disdain. "Who are you anyway? Why are you in the ladies room? Come to peep, have you?" She gave a mad laugh. Harry narrowed his eyes at the ghost and walked over to the stall that was leaking water into the rest of the room. Peering into the stall, Harry spotted a single black book lying in the waste. It was miraculously clean and dry 'Impervious charm probably'. Flipping through the pages, he saw that they were all blank and the only writing in the whole thing was a name at the front that read, T. , printed in neat, black handwriting.

After Harry's outburst at lunch, people were more horrible than ever. Though something lifted his spirits later that evening after charms class in the form of a mirror call from Sirius. "Hey, Sirius. What do you want?" he asked gloomily. Narrowing his eyes at his godson, he answered "We have been able to keep the parseltongue news quiet around the Prophet, though Rita Skeeter nearly caught wind and we had to pay them a substantial amount, for them at least, to keep her in check, though that deal is forever. Anyway, enough about the news, what is happening at Hogwarts these days? The new Marauders making trouble for McGonagall as the new Headmistress? Or is your gloomy tone for something other than a failed prank?" Harry nodded at the second part and explained the situation with himself, the Heir of Slytherin and his outburst at lunch. "Oh don't worry pup, things will sort themselves out soon. Plus, I've got someone for you to meet properly." A woman Harry recognised shuffled into the frame. "Madam Bones, a pleasure to see you again." He said with a sly smirk. "Ah Mr Potter, I have been subtly investigating this Chamber of Secrets nonsense and so far I can definitely conclude that you are at least, NOT the person responsible." Harry's expression didn't change. "Well at least someone other than my girlfriend, god-brother, sister and family believe me. Hogwarts is still under the impression that I am murdering psychopath with Medusa tendencies. Well, I have to go, thanks for everything you've done so far. Oh, and Madam Bones, I know exactly where you are, Sirius is using the wide-frame mirror that only resides in his room. Keep him in check, please. Bye, Padfoot!" Harry waved as was about to shout "you little shi"- and was cut off.

Hermione saw heard the conversation from her seat at the desk next to Harry's bed and giggled at his slight towards the DMLE director and his godfather. Harry rose from his bed and walked over to Hermione, giving her a peck on the cheek before sitting down on the bed. "So, how's my reputation with the first-years, scared them off yet?" She smiled weakly and started to rest her head on his shoulder. The action did not go unnoticed by Neville and Dean, two people that also used the room as a dorm. "Well, Colin is certainly… miffed, for lack of a better word and the rest of Gryffindor still believes that you are a heartless, psychopathic moron that is turning people into stone. I do believe that we have some support though on the first-year side. Ginny Weasley seems quite taken with you and ripped into Colin the first chance she got and walked him out of the common room. Probably going to shout at him more." Hermione replied with a wink at the mention of Ginny Weasley, which made Harry shudder in disgust. "I guess I can apologise to Colin… when this whole Heir thing is over and done with. Until I am cleared of any doubt that I am not the Heir of Slytherin, I will not be apologising for my short temper. Besides, you like it when I get all defensive." He shot back, waggling his eyebrows. Hermione laughed back and pecked Harry on the lips, bidding goodnight to Neville who returned the gesture and Dean who just gave a curt nod. "G'night Hermione. Sleep well." Harry called after her as he leaned back into the headboard of his bed. 'At least it's the weekend tomorrow.' Harry thought as he pondered what he could do tomorrow, given that he had done all of his homework for the next week. "Hey Nev, the library for research tomorrow?" Harry asked his brother. "Sure, we might be able to get some more info on the magic causing the attacks. I hope that we can also do some more transfiguration practice as well. I think that my wand might be losing power or something like that. I seem to be doing progressively worse in the classes that I need my wand for. Well, I'll ask Gran about it anyway. Night Harry." He said back through the drawn curtains.

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Thanks for sticking around for this long into the story. It means a lot that people read it.

Stay Safe

-E


	19. Chapter 19 : The Wand Chooses the Wizard

I don't own the story or the characters of Harry Potter, this work is entirely fan-made. The rights to everything Harry Potter belong to J.K Rowling.

I would like to say a massive thank you to everyone who has read and supported 'The Fight of Two Generations' which as of tonight has reached over 32.5 thousand views. I honestly couldn't have done it without you. It means so much to know that so many people enjoy the story.

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The frosty January had been cold, especially in the highlands at the castle, the main factor for the low number of people staying over the winter break. Harry and Zoe spent their Christmas in their Cottage in Godric's Hollow, having recently renovated the house and magically expanding it from the inside, giving it another floor and a basement. The Potter's had given their presents to Neville and Hermione before they left school, to account for them not being there at Hogwarts this year. Hermione and Neville had also spent Christmas with their families, though they refrained from having other guests due to the Hogwarts pariah business. As January came around again, the cold weather arrived, along with the promise of new beginnings. Neville had been studying a lot for the subjects he was struggling with and had not quite managed to figure out why his wand had not been performing. However, he had friends that would help him find out. "Alright, just remember the incantation and use it on the ball in mid-air. Ready?" Zoe asked as she palmed a golf ball. At Neville's nod, she threw it in the air, waiting for the spell to strike it. "Glacius!" Neville cried as the wand gave a jerk and a dim blue light shot from it. The golf ball merely fell to the grass, topped lightly with snow. "Hmm. The incantation was borderline perfect and the wand movement was correct. I don't see what might have caused this power fault." Zoe sighed and told him. Harry caught her words and got up from Hermione's side, causing Hermione to reshift her book that was in her hand slightly. "I think I might have a theory. Neville, that wand was your father's, yes? Something that Mr Ollivander the wand-maker told us when we got our wands came back to me." Zoe slapped her forehead in annoyance. "How could we have forgotten. Neville, the wand chooses the wizard or witch. That wand was not meant for you, though it worked perfectly for your father. You need to get a new one, one that calls to you." Neville punched the air in triumph at finding an answer. The Potter twins grinned at him and Hermione shook her head in annoyance at her reading time being disturbed.

The Saturday was a beautifully clear one, meaning most students were out on the grounds in their winter cloaks, though there was a smattering of people inside the draughty castle. One person who was not enjoying the outdoors was Professor McGonagall, who had throughout the winter break, been marking and taking on the duties of Headmistress more seriously. The majority of the board of Governors had insisted that she stay on as the Headmistress, even if Dumbledore was able to come back to society. Lucius Malfoy had objected to both sides of the argument, saying that both were too lenient on the student populace, including his son, Draco. "Your school is going to be very different from the original intention of the founders, Headmistress. Salazar Slytherin was the most prominent of these, and as such, would be disappointed that the Headmistress would allow sub-magicals to enter their school, not only as teachers but as students. This is something that must change." He would drawl in some form or another, every single meeting. Minerva had friends and allies on the board as well, such as Andromeda Tonks and Augusta Longbottom. These two were supporters of the original view of the founders, one that was not misconstrued. The meeting was a futile one and had been wildly unsuccessful in swaying opinions on either side. Minerva invited Augusta and Andromeda to her office for some refreshments, after making sure that Lucius and the others had left the castle without causing mayhem. During their chat, there came a knock on her office door.

"I know, we could ask Professor McGonagall to let you out of the castle for a day to get you a new wand. It isn't efficient ordering a wand by an owl, because you have to feel it calling to you. Trust me, Neville, it will be worth it." Harry said as they walked back inside, hands chilled to the bone. Zoe's wand buzzed, "Oh right. I have to get to Quidditch practice guys, see you later." They waved goodbye to Zoe and looked at her in pity. A frosty broom was a dangerous one, and Oliver Wood would not back down from practice, especially since their next match was with the Hufflepuffs and their seeker, Cedric Diggory. Harry and Hermione headed to the library to do some research for the ongoing petrifying mystery as Neville headed in the opposite direction to ask Professor McGonagall about a trip to Ollivanders. He knocked on the office door, was greeted by the Headmistress and strangely, his grandmother. "Good afternoon Professor, I was wondering if I could have a day from school, today or tomorrow preferably." He smiled sheepishly and looked at his Gran who asked back "Neville, why? You aren't trying to get out of homework, are you, young man?" He gulped and replied: "No, it's just… I think I need a new wand. I know this one is special because it's my dad's but I talked to Harry and Zoe and they gave me some advice. Apparently, Mr Ollivander said to them that 'The wand chooses the wizard or witch'. I never got to choose one, and so I have no core that called to me." He reasoned with his Grandmother. Augusta looked at Professor McGonagall for an answer and got a nod in return. "Very well Mr Longbottom. Go with your Grandmother now and make sure you can finish practising the spell for Monday's lesson."

The shop had no other customers in it, making it feel abandoned yet it still held an air of comfort as the two Longbottoms entered. The wand-maker himself was tending to the shelves but noticed immediately the two people in his store. "Ah, Mrs Longbottom, a pleasure to see you again. And this young man must be Neville. Might I ask why it is you are here? I have a hunch which I hoped you could clarify for me." The old man said in an excited tone. Neville furrowed his eyebrows and straightened up from a slight slouch. "You see, Mr Ollivander, I have been using my father's wand since I began at Hogwarts. It has worked fine for me since then, up until recently. I have performed spells not usually attempted at my level such as the seize and pull charm, without fail, though as of late, I have noticed that my magic has begun shrinking in not only power but controllability. I believe that it is because I have not made a bond with this wand and a core has had no chance to call to me." His aristocratic accent slipped through as he acted like an adult, as he was expected to when he became of age and Lord Longbottom on his fifteenth birthday. Mr Ollivander smiled and bowed his head, glancing subtly at Augusta before retreating into the aisles of wand boxes. "Now, Heir Longbottom, I believe your father's wand contained a sliver of dragon-heartstring, did it not?" Neville nodded and the wizened wand-maker continued. "Well, I think that this wand does not perform for you well, due to the core. The wood is also a minor factor in it, but the core is the heart and soul of the wand. With one that disagrees with you, fights you, it will not work forever. Now, I would like to try you with a wand that befits a master of flying and herbology. A chestnut wand with a shard of thestral spine. Give it a wave, please." Neville did so and the building creaked. "NO! NO! Put it down, please." He did so, gingerly. "The core isn't right, but we seem to be getting somewhere, yes. This one. perhaps?"

Harry saw Neville come through the portrait into the common room with a wide grin plastered on his face. He walked up to the table and placed his new wand next to Harry, supposedly for inspection. Taking the wand in his left hand, Harry admired the slim and sleek look to the wood and the weaving branch-like handle where Neville's hand would go. "Looks good, though, it's the purpose that counts. We have the duelling club tomorrow, with a new chaperone too. Want to test it out then, or we could try the meeting area." Indicating with a wry grin and two fingers, Neville pulled Harry to his feet and they ran to the meeting area for the Society. After a brief run and an explanation of the core elements of his new wand, Neville closed the door and lit up the lights on the wall. "Incendio." He flicked the wand lazily and looked at Harry with glee, who shot back a look of pride. Harry raised an eyebrow "Duel?" and Neville nodded. "Duel." The two spent the next two hours trying out non-offensive spells that wouldn't damage them on each other, paying close attention to the new wand, which obeyed Neville's every command. The Chestnut wand was a perfect fit for him. It chose people that had a strong affinity with the earth and was great for herbology and controlling different forms of flora and fauna. Despite the sudden influx in power, Neville still wasn't able to beat Harry in a one-on-one duel, evident by the soreness of Neville's legs when they were hit with a jelly-legs jinx. Pulling him from the floor and cancelling the jinx, the brothers turned to each other and shook hands, a sign of respect when duelling in a formal and non-lethal environment. With just minutes to spare until dinner started, they rushed out of the meeting room, extinguishing the lights before they went and made to sprint to the common room before they ate to change into less-sweaty clothes.

As they came around a corner, Harry tugged Neville back and made a gesture with his hands to look carefully around the stone at someone. "I told you already, people are delusional, Potter can't be the Heir of Slytherin. Uhh… Why am I even explaining this again, you idiots will just forget it by tomorrow." Draco groaned and carried on to the next staircase with his lackeys, thinking he was alone. Harry and Neville shared looks of equal intrigue but kept themselves quiet until they were in the dormitory, changing from the duelling clothes. "Malfoy knows something about the Heir, or at least, he thinks he does. We have to find out what he knows." Harry said, alive with adrenaline from the duelling session. Neville zipped up his jacket and nodded along, reminding himself of the words that the Slytherin had said. "We have to tell the girls first though, they can help. I bet we could try brewing Polyjuice potion if we had the ingredients for it. Hermione and Zoe could brew it whilst we pilfer the items form Snape's cupboard." Harry was mildly shocked at his words. "You honestly frighten me sometimes, mate. Wouldn't want to get on the wrong side of one of your pranks. Though I don't think that Polyjuice is a good idea. It takes too long to brew and we can't afford to have more casualties." Neville smirked as they headed down the staircase from the dorms to be greeted by Colin Creevey. "Hi, Harry! What was up with you and Neville running from the third-floor earlier? Was that Giant dog still there? Can you show me it, that would be awesome in my album?!" Harry shoved past the boy as he and Neville marched off to the great hall, having to face yet another mealtime of isolation with Hermione and no-one else. The house tables were still split, with most people afraid of being near Harry. The new rules to enforce safety amongst the students was that you could only sit and go to your own tables during mealtimes unless you had express permission from the Headmistress or the new Deputy Headmaster Flitwick. The 'Outcasts', privately known as the Rogue Society had not yet asked about the new ruling, as the rule was only silently put into effect. Once again, the hall stood and held it's breath as the Boy-Who-Lived took his place amongst the Lions.

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More character growth for Neville and some lore sprinkled in as well. Be warned, most of the 'facts' that a certain wandmaker gives are either canon or complete nonsense that came from my head. If it seems more like the second one, well, complain I guess. I don't care that much. I do this for fun.

Neville's wand is going to be different than canon, thanks to Pottermore/Wizarding world information about wand cores and woods. If it wasn't that clear, his wand is made of chestnut wood, as information says that it works well for Herbology. His core is the same and the design (if it even matters for a non-visual story) is too.

Rambling again, aren't I? Well thanks for reading again. Stay Safe

-E


	20. Chapter 20 : The Man in the Diary

I don't own the story or the characters of Harry Potter, this work is entirely fan-made. The rights to everything Harry Potter belong to J.K Rowling.

Thanks for the support on this story. I hope it brightens your day in this gloomy period of our lives.

Enjoy!

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"Colin. I won't say this again, stay away from Harry. He's mine and you are driving him insane and away from me. Leave him alone." The young girl hissed out threateningly. She seemed to be speaking in two voices, though he could not identify the other one battling Ginny's normally sweet tone. Colin wouldn't argue with the famous Weasley temper right now, so backed off and rushed to the Great Hall for dinner with everyone else. Ginny ran to her dormitory and checked on her diary to talk to Tom. Then she realised that she had foolishly thrown the book away when angry at Myrtle, the wailing phantom. Whilst trembling with fear at what Tom could have said to someone else or god forbid the boy in question about Harry, Ginny yanked open the door to Myrtle's bathroom and strode over to the stall where she had thrown the diary. It was gone. As she was about to cry out in anguish, Ginny heard Myrtle crying again upon the high windowsill. Addressing the ghost in a softer voice than before, she asked her to tell her who took her diary that she insisted wasn't thrown _at_ the Ravenclaw girl. "Oh, I remember him, the handsome boy with green eyes and glasses. Ah, he was quite polite and lovely. I sat in the u-bend all day, thinking about him as if I had a body and he would"- She was cut off by Ginny bolting out of the door, which slammed and left Myrtle alone again.

The four Gryffindors were treated to a wonderful evening of catching stares of hate and fear from the other students as they ate their meal. Harry was calmer after his talk with Sirius and Amelia Bones, which he vowed to his Godfather he would not speak of to anyone. So, naturally, Harry kept it to himself until he could avoid the prying eyes and ears of the Hogwarts students when he would tell Neville and laugh raucously with him. Another reason was so that Susan Bones wasn't sick at the thought of her Auntie having any sexual relations, especially with a notorious womanizer like Sirius Black. Among the late-comers to the dinner table was Colin Creevey, looking pale and frightened. Ginny Weasley followed him in two minutes later but sat suspiciously far from him, odd for two friends in the same year. Harry took note of this and shrugged, assuming that the bollocking Ginny gave him was intimidating enough that he didn't want another coming his way. Zoe had been fine with her nightmares since Christmas but was still left shuddering at the prospect of having either of those two men in the castle, dictating her state of dress or mind. "Harry, what are we going to do as far as the trials go with Lockhart and Dumbledore. They both have the public, the Wizengamot or both wrapped around their little finger?" She asked as she nibbled at her shepherd's pie. Harry shovelled his own bite of meat and mash down his throat as Hermione slapped his shoulder. "Manners darling." She said sweetly, mocking him and making Neville and Zoe burst out in laughter as Harry apologised to his girlfriend. Hermione snickered quietly and smiled, going back to her salmon. "Well, the way I see it, we have no choice in the matter. Think about it. Our parents or Dad at the very least are still lingering on Dumbledore's past accomplishments. He along with a majority of the Wizengamot are indebted to him for cleaning up our streets and so forth. We either face the wrath of the people and our father or take the easy road out and forgive him. As for the piece of filth called Lockhart, no-one can deny a testimony from the mind of a legilimens to the Head of the DMLE." He smiled at the single victory over Lockhart.

With full stomachs and dazed heads, the student populous of Hogwarts headed to their respective dormitories and common rooms before the early curfew. As Harry left the hall, cradling his swollen stomach with a hand, he felt someone push past him and sprint in the direction he was going. He missed the features of the rude person but assumed that they were in a hurry, so he shrugged it off. The game of 'Who can piss Harry Potter off the most?' was a rapidly spreading fascination with the children of the school who knew no better, though, for the older students who had seen Harry duel and be ruthless on the Defence stage, they stayed away. Clearly, this person knew no better, which was annoying but a necessary evil to let the rest of his image go untarnished in light of current events. As they climbed the stairs leading to the hall of staircases where every house would split up, there came a jeering voice coming from the back of the crowd. "So, Potter, not snapping at your boyfriend today, are you? Or did you switch to someone new who didn't have an annoying fangirl attacking them every hour?" Draco Malfoy sometimes knew how to push exactly the right buttons, however, today, he was far from his desired result. His textbook sneer was only rivalled by that of Professor Quirrell's last year but still wasn't provocative enough. "No, actually Draco, what happened was a child not knowing when to stop and think. Then again, I don't see why you would know when to stop either, you've been trying and failing to taunt me for so long, yet you keep failing, as usual. Just like when you told Goyle to set a snake on Justin and Susan." Harry shot back, not caring for the blond boy's retort. "You can't prove that I did that Potter. Goyle did that himself, even Professor Lockhart thought so. Blaming me for setting a snake on Finch-Fletchley won't absolve any blame from yourself, being a parselmouth." Harry rolled his eyes and carried on walking with Hermione.

Upon entering the common room, Neville came down from the dormitories waving his hands to get Harry's attention. They walked over to him asking "What's going on? Why are you out of breath?" Harry asked, trying to calm the boy down. Neville panted out "Someone… Got into our dorm room and… left feathers everywhere! We can't get into your trunk to check if anything is missing. Everyone else's is fine." He had heard enough and rushed upstairs, rifling through his trunk after using his special charms to unlock it. He threw clothing, books and supplies into a pile, careful to place down the ink bottles gently. He found the missing item after putting everything back. "Damn it! Bloody Hell!" He shouted and kicked the wall lightly, venting his frustrations on the bricks. Dean had checked his trunk at the same time as Harry, shooting glances at him and asked if something had been taken. "There was a black diary in here, one that was very important. It's gone." Harry looked up at Neville, who had walked in on hearing Harry's frustrations and told him what had been taken. He didn't understand the importance of that diary as Harry did. "Listen, Neville. I found that Diary in Myrtle's bathroom on the second floor after investigating a flood. It contains the memories of a 16-year-old in 1943 called Tom Riddle, who was at Hogwarts when the Chamber of Secrets was opened the first time. I had some conversations with him and he showed me a memory of him claiming to have the thing responsible. I wasn't going to tell you guys until I had found a way to clear my name and I am sorry for that but… I feel like I was so close to finding out the truth and it slipped through my fingers."

Harry told Hermione and Zoe the truth afterwards, albeit reluctantly and his girlfriend rightly scolded him for keeping it to himself. "Harry, we could have been working together on that, then we could have been working faster and more efficiently. I'm just disappointed that you had to keep it from us all. And you have known about it since before Christmas?! We could all have been helping for over 2 months now." She sighed in disappointment, thinking 'Does he have to learn it the hard way that he needs to be able to ask for help?' Harry spied the reprimand in her voice and looked to his sister, who was equally shaking her head as she broke eye contact with him, hurt that he didn't tell them. "I didn't tell anyone because I know what I was doing was right and I don't need my girlfriend, my brother and sister telling me that it is too dangerous to be able to speak to a diary to help me prove my innocence. I don't need a telling off Hermione… but I don't want to argue with you all. So, can you please help _now_. I'll compile all of the things that he told me and then we can work from there." His dignity thoroughly shattered, he walked up the stairs and grabbed his parchment and a quill, working his way through the facts he knew from Tom Riddle.

"Right, so he told you, or I guess, showed you that Hagrid was at least a suspect in the case. Though, we will have to ask him about the grounds of the expulsion and the acromantula that escaped. He can't have been serious about loving that thing, can he?" Hermione asked. Neville shivered at the thought of the possibly now-giant arachnid and went back to looking at the parchment. "After that, we can check the records of this person to check if they are who they say they are and if we can trust them. Tom Marvolo Riddle just sounds mysterious." She concluded. After outlining their specific roles concerning the research on Tom Riddle and the death of a girl in 1943, they strayed from sleuthing and moved onto doing some homework instead. Harry picked up his herbology textbook and learnt some more about bubotuber pods whilst Hermione helped Zoe catch up on some transfiguration homework that she had missed when in the hospital wing. After a long night of work and revision for the end of year exams, which Hermione insisted were 'vital and unavoidable', the four split and went off to bed, pulling covers over themselves wat past the 10 pm mark.

Alarms went off in the dorm as four boys rose from their beds, two of them eager to get to defence class, where they would be learning the theory for stunning spells that would be taught next year along with the counter-spell, the reviving charm. They met Hermione and Zoe at the bottom of the staircases and headed down to breakfast where it seemed that the only other people up were a few Ravenclaws, two Hufflepuffs and the teachers. As they settled at the Gryffindor table, Hagrid came lumbering through the doors and was about to make his way to the Head table and take his place next to Professor Flitwick… until Harry blocked his path and greeted him. "Hey, Hagrid, have you noticed any of the school chickens go missing recently by any chance?" The half-giant narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the boy and shook his head with an air of apprehension. "Can' say that I ave'. Though the roosters have been droppin' like flies. Wha' of it? Don' know what appened' do yeh?" He asked back. "No, it's just that… my dorm was raided recently and the perpetrator left feathers everywhere. Are the roosters the only things that are dying?" Harry wondered out loud. Hagrid nodded glumly. Harry asked him another question that brightened his mood slightly. "Can we come over later? We want to relax and chat tonight." Hagrid engulfed him in a hug and agreed as he put the suffocating boy down. He bade goodbye to the four and rushed off to grab his eggs and bacon fit for a small feast. Harry turned back to his friends and sat down, shaking himself to make sure he was still awake and hadn't been crushed by Hagrid's hug. "Well guys, looks like we have a date with Hagrid tonight."

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Love writing for Hagrid, he's so goofy in his pronunciation, but we all love him.

I need help from my loyal readers: In 3rd year AU do I incorporate Time-Turners or not? Time travel is difficult to write, especially when I have to use Hermione's POV for it. If you have an opinion on that question, please shoot me a PM or leave the answer in a review. Thanks

Stay safe

-E


	21. Chapter 21 : A Murderer Framed

I don't own the story or the characters of Harry Potter, this work is entirely fan-made. The rights to everything Harry Potter belong to J.K Rowling.

Thanks for reading this far, it means a lot.

Enjoy!

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"Blimey, it's yeh. Don't scare me like tha'. Well, come in then, come in. Wouldn' want yeh to catch a cold now." Hagrid whispered to the cloak-wearing Gryffindors, lowering his crossbow. They all bustled into the small hut quickly, the half-giant looking around before he shut the door behind them. Harry stuffed the cloak back into his bag and took a seat at the table that looked more like a door than a coffee table. "Rock cakes anyone? Tea?" Hagrid offered his guests refreshments, which they gladly took, but looked sceptical at the rock cakes, now knowing if they were a recipe in his cookbook from Christmas. "So what're yeh doin' out at this kind o' time? Yeh could get in serious trouble with Professor McGonagall." Harry broke the ice and took the chance, letting Zoe speak whilst he took a wary bite of the rock cakes. Zoe shook her head relayed the information from the diary. "So, were you the culprit, answer wisely, I will know." She said, tapping her forehead, indicating her legilimency abilities. He sighed and let them know the truth. "Yes, I ad' an Acromantula called Aragog but he never hurt anybody. Never. I swear. I told that Riddle lad the truth. Yeh believe me, right?" He growled. Hermione spoke up, looking up from her surprisingly edible cake "Yes, we believe you on the point that you didn't open the chamber, however, an Acromantula not hurting anybody, that's the bit we all struggle to believe. Zoe looked up them in multiple books on creatures and some on_ dark_ creatures and know that they can do. They don't petrify people but they do inject a deadly venom if threatened, of which the effects are uncertain." Hagrid made a sort of mumbling protest but let Zoe continue in her assessment of the creature. "In Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, it is classed by the Ministry as a XXXXX class magical creature, meaning it is impossible to domesticate and control them once they reach a certain level of size or intelligence. Please tell me it was disposed of, Harry couldn't make that part out in that past vision." Zoe emplored him to say that it was killed but he just shook his head.

Hagrid looked back up, guiltily at the twins, Neville and Hermione. A mix of shame and slight anger at them sparked in his eyes but disappeared when Hermione bore down upon him. "Hagrid, do you realise that if you had kept that Acromantula, it would have killed and probably eaten you? Mr Riddle probably did you a favour by scaring it from the castle grounds." Hermione stopped dead in her tracks and stared open-mouthed at Hagrids new expression, one of even deeper shame. Zoe used her ability to read his current thoughts and gasped, telling Harry and Neville instantly what he was thinking. "It never left the grounds. You are keeping it in that forest, this close to the school! Hagrid what were you thinking?! Oh Merlin, no! You can't be serious?!" She squealed in slight terror. She turned to Harry who caught her in a hug and held her by the shoulders. She quivered and looked up at them. "There's a whole colony of them. Only a kilometre from the edge of the forest. And 'Aragog' is over five metres tall now, at least." She rubbed her temples and sat down on the chair again. The other three looked at the teacher incredulously as he bowed his hair-covered head even further, looking as if he was trying to get his beard to envelope him whole. "I'm sorry, all righ'. I didn' know how dangerous he could ave' been at the time. And believe me, I've tried to approach him, to tell him to leave to another par' o' the highlands… but e's been adaman' bout' staying here an' feedin' his young. Tha's the only solution I could think of. I know he didn' hurt anyone back then. E' was too little and frail. All e' told me before he left for the forest for the las' time, was that he knew that the beast that killed tha' girl was born in the castle, long ago and that he feared it above all else. That all spiders did."

Lady Elizabeth was annoyed to be woken at 10 p.m. by a little girl with red hair but knew she was a first-year, so let her through with no more than a "Goodnight, hopefully" to her as she went through. Only minutes later, another four faces appeared at the entrance to the common room and gave the password. "Just so you know, you will be the last ones through here until morning, understood?" She hissed as she accepted the password and swung open. Harry shrugged off the invisibility cloak and kissed Hermione's cheek before they all split apart and went to their dorms, vowing to talk to the Society tomorrow about their new-found information. As they changed into their nightwear from behind the closed curtains of their beds, Harry and Neville agreed to tell Hagrid before they owled the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical creatures about an infestation at school. The following morning, after getting up and sending messages to the society members with Hedwig and Sidera using the post, Harry, Hermione, Zoe and Neville all headed towards the third-floor corridor, where they found the door wedged, nearly impossible to get open. Hermione got the others to keep an eye out for students and used a substantial amount of force in her banishing and unlocking charm combination. The door swung open and a large, black object skidded across the floor and came to rest again the far wall.

It was the still form of Colin Creevey, holding his camera to his eye, with his other shut to take a picture.

As Professor McGonagall looked over the faces of the four second-years that had brought a petrified Colin Creevey to Madam Pomfrey, she scowled and shook her head. "Why is it, when someone is hurt, you four are somehow at the forefront of knowledge about it." She exclaimed before turning to the hospital matron. "Poppy, is he alright? Not beyond _repair_?" Madam Pomfrey shook her head and the Headmistress sighed a deep breath in relief. "Now, I don't believe that any of you, would do this, or were even capable of doing this but you need to stop being in the wrong places at the worst times. Thankfully you were there to find Mr Creevey, or he likely would still be there until Mr Filch got around to the end of year cleaning of the castle." Hermione nearly gulped in fear of the meeting area for the society being stumbled upon by someone other than a student being petrified but held back the gesture. "Well, we had to go somewhere to avoid Peeves. He was taunting Harry down the hall, _again_. Isn't there something that we can do about him? Or you, as Headmistress?" Hermione asked, lying to cover their movements in the school. Professor McGonagall tapped her temples in thought. "Ah, yes. I remember Albus trying to communicate with the Bloody Baron to keep Peeves in order, so I shall try to as well. Now, be on your way, please… oh, and if possible, stay out of trouble." She said before waving them away and walking over to Madam Pomfrey again.

When the hospital wing was out of sight and any other students were out of earshot, the four Gryffindors ran to the third floor, discussing the new evidence to go with the further developing mystery with the Heir of Slytherin. Upon arrival at the door, they caught their breath and walked in, closing the door steadily behind them as Harry took his place at the head of the table. Cedric spoke up "Blimey, you actually made it. Good on you to show up. Where were you all?" After he had finished, the target of his joke stood and addressed the packed house. "Good morning. We were gone just then, briefly, I hope," he looked at Cedric who shook his head and smiled "as a matter that pertains to this meeting was the top priority. Colin Creevey was petrified, we don't know when but we assume that it was either late last night or very early this morning. Thankfully, the film in his camera was fried, so our meeting area stays private, for now." He saw the raised eyebrows and some baffled looks when he said camera, so he let Hermione explain. After she had told them quickly about what cameras were, much to the amusement of the purebloods and the clueless, Harry continued. "Anyway, another victim of the petrifications means more evidence has come up. Yesterday, we talked to the person who was believed to have set the monster loose the first time a person was exposed to it. Hagrid was accused of this and subsequently had his wand snapped in 1943 after a student was found dead in a bathroom. He knows of a possibly larger threat to the school, and so we shall be talking to the Ministry about it." He breathed out and looked at Neville, who nodded and saw Zoe and Hermione give the same response. "There is a colony of Acromantula living just over a kilometre inside the forbidden forest. The 'king', so to speak, was considered the killer last time, however, petrification is not a listed effect of the few that an acromantula's venom can cause. This means that we are dealing with a threat to Hogwarts from both the inside of the castle… and out."

The chattering coming from the students was overwhelming, so Professor McGonagall shot a noise equivalent to that of a hundred fireworks into the air to garner the attention of the crowds. "While yes, another student has been attacked by someone, we will stay strong. Hogwarts does not bow, to terrorists, nor does it kneel to those who seek to take it from us. We remain strong, unified and loyal to the end. If Hogwarts bows to the person doing this to the youth of our school, we are not fit to call ourselves residents, teachers and pupils of this great castle." Whilst the speech at dinner-time was rousing and brave, it would not stop the monster. How a wise and experienced witch, like Minerva McGonagall, thought that a student or even a human could rain down these blows on the student populous was beyond Harry and was likely just a coping mechanism for the other teachers, who might have thought correctly that a beast was doing this. When back in the warmness of the common room, Neville spoke up first to agree with Harry's internal thoughts. "She's scared and confused, no matter how brave her speech seems. She and the other teachers have come down with Dumbledore syndrome." At Zoe and Hermione's confused looks and Harry's raised eyebrow, he explained 'Dumbledore's syndrome'. "You know, the incredibly uncommon and stubborn ability to lie to everyone who matters about important and dangerous truths. That and the fact that they haven't said a word about this to parents. Sirius and the Potters are dealing with it behind the scenes with the DMLE and besides, they're too busy drawing up charges on Dumbledore and Lockhart to be bothered with a few near deaths." Nevilles moment of lighthearted humour was much-needed in the group, especially with accusations flying at Harry from every direction like a chaser surrounded by bludgers. With Hermione's head in Harry's lap as they sat lazily by the fire in the common room, she sighed. All was right in the world in that fleeting moment. All worries melted away as the world became as small as the two lovers, a herbologist and a young Magical Creatures expert joined in a singular cause. The only thing that brought them out of the daydream was that to rid the castle of a plot that would destroy it, the Rogue Society would have to intervene.

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We're finally going to get into the really juicy stuff. You know what happens next in regards to the Heir, or I should think you know by now.

Stay Safe

-E


	22. Chapter 22 : Bullies

I don't own the story or the characters of Harry Potter, this work is entirely fan-made. The rights to everything Harry Potter belong to J.K Rowling.

New, week, new chapter. Thanks for reading this far into the story.

Quick note: Updates may become less frequent, as I have some College Prep work to do for the eventual return to education.

Enjoy!

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The reassurance from Professor McGonagall was enough for some to believe that the Heir of Slytherin would no longer attack, which infuriated others, including Harry and his outcasts. Harry had noticed a small decline of the jabs at him or his friends, partly due to the Rogue Society subtly hinting at the nefarious deeds of Dumbledore that had now seemed to influence McGonagall. They had all listened intently to Harry during the previous meeting and noticed that some of the Slytherins were scared too, namely Tracey Davis and Alexander David, who had to keep telling people that they weren't related, though they spent time together; they were friends and shared the company of Daphne Greengrass, another second-year Slytherin. Others who knew Harry or the outcasts had come up to him, asking for his advice on avoiding being petrified, though his status as a Parselmouth was fully cemented in everyone's heads, thanks in part to Justin Finch-Fletchley's friends, Ernie Macmillan and Wayne Hopkins, who spread the news like dry leaves in a bushfire. The news was old, though still enticing some to stay far away from him as if he had an airborne strand of Dragon-Pox. Harry had a particularly strange encounter outside Defence class just before the lesson started on Friday afternoon too.

Luna Lovegood was a strange type, always babbling about something that no-one had heard of, that she had claimed was famous to her and her 'brilliant' father. She seemed almost brain-damaged, though she was intelligent, fiercely so too, so mentally challenged was off the table. Many theorised that she was an alien, coming from a distant planet and was still referring to her own culture and of her father on her spaceship. Ginny Weasley dissipated the last rumours as she had met Xenophilius 'Xeno' Lovegood, though she stood by the assertion that he was an odd man. "Hello Harry Potter, are you alright? You have to learn to protect your mind more often or else the Nargles and the aquavirus maggots can easily get into your head." Harry's eyes widened and Zoe shot her a dirty look, not believing in those creatures of myth that the Quibbler magazine must have made up. "Well, I just wanted you to know that the Blibbering Humdingers believe that you are innocent. I trust this view completely, though I didn't expect them to tell the truth. They don't do it always, but they do for people of great power. I'll see you around. Good afternoon to you too, Zoe Potter." She said before promptly skipping off down the hall, supposedly to a lesson, though Zoe murmured "to the madhouse." Hermione snickered at the girl's obvious disdain for the imaginary creatures and Neville simply rolled his eyes.

After Defence, in which the whole class had gone over the material that was rumoured to be in the end-of-year exam, Harry and Hermione went for a walk around the castle grounds, a date of sorts, seeing as though they couldn't get into Hogsmede village until third-year weekend trips, which the pair were looking forward to. "Harry, I… I don't want to lose you, so promise me something alright?" Hermione said, in the middle of talking about the looming threat of the Heir of Slytherin. Harry furrowed his brow in confusion yet held Hermione's hands in his and nodded. "If one of us gets petrified, or worse… We do whatever we can to stay out of the fight from then on." At Harry's distraught look, she continued and cut him off from saying something without thinking, as he usually did. Now was the time to listen. "I don't want you getting turned to stone, or-or being taken from this world, from your parents, your sister. If it means letting the person go free, even if they are right in your grasp, please, don't make more enemies. I couldn't live with myself if I was the reason that you got…" She tapered off and looked down, sniffling. "Hermione, I- couldn't let you down like that. If I have the person who took you from me in my hands, within an inch of their pitiful life, you can't expect me to… do nothing, can you?" She looked up at him as he cradled her hands in his. "Yes, because if you go down that path, you won't come back as yourself." Harry massaged the bridge of his nose, deep in thought. "I promise." He said, before lifting her head from her chest and hugging her as if his days were truly in short supply. They sat by the edge of the Black Lake, on the shore, with her head cradled in the crook of Harry's neck, until they went back to the castle for dinner.

As they walked through the archway, framing their conjoined hands, Harry and Hermione witnessed an intolerable sight. "What do you need my cloak and shoes for? If you had asked, you could have them." Luna said as she was put back down. Harry rushed over, Hermione close behind and caught up with the four- 'Ravenclaws?' Harry thought in confusion. "What are you four doing?! Give Luna back her things, please." He growled out, nearly letting his temper slip. The girl at the front of the group was staring down the barrel of a loaded gun, one named Harry Potter, yet, despite being two years his senior, she quivered under the glare of the Gryffindor Defence prodigy. "Uhh… Or what, Pott…" She looked up, regaining the confidence she had when stealing 'Loony's' things, which then dissipated when she saw the blazing fire that crackled behind Harry's eyes. "Now, I believe Luna needs a cloak and shoes. Why don't you give them back?" Her friends had bolted in the mere second that it had taken Harry to rush to the first-year's aid, so the girl was alone in her task of standing up to Harry Potter. "So, what is it going to be, give Luna her possessions back, or find out why they call me Duelling Devil?" Harry raised an eyebrow and the older girl flinched, dropping Luna's things to the floor and bolting off in the direction her friends had gone. Harry picked up the cloak and Hermione the shoes and walked over to Luna, Harry trying desperately to rub the dust and dirt off the cloth. "Harry, hold it out for me," Hermione commanded as he unfolded it and smoothed out the creases. "Scourgify!" she said with vigour, pointing her wand at the cloak, ridding it of the major patches of dust and grime. Luna looked at her and gratefully accepted the clothes back, beaming as she slipped her shoes onto her shivering feet. "Thank you both, I don't really know why they needed my clothes. If they did need them that badly they could have just asked me for them. The Umbugular Slashkilter might have minded the cold beneath my feet but I don't mind the sensation one bit." She skipped off again, swaying like a leaf on the vine, sporting a dreamy and dazed look.

Harry and Hermione made it to dinner only four minutes later, with Neville arriving a further nine after that, smelling slightly of sea salt. "Neville, have you already eaten? And how much salt did you put on the cottage pie?" Zoe exclaimed, taking a bite of potato, nearly reeling at the salty smell emanating from the boy. "No, I'm bloody starving. Oh, you're talking about the smell. I went to help Professor Sprout with some new Abyssinian Shrivelfigs. Professor Snape needed some for the shrinking solution, apparently, you need them fresh off the market to get the best sheen in a potion." At the look of confusion on their faces, he just told them he was working to get his grade up so he could shadow Professor Sprout in extra lessons next year. "Neville, you're the best in the year, hell, the whole school, besides Professor Sprout at Herbology. Why does your grade need to get any higher than an O*?" He blushed at Harry's sentiment and sat down to his meal with the rest of them. The needless glaring had stopped from most of the school by now, though the Slytherins seemed less inclined to smile and a band of Ravenclaws were cowering from fear, as Harry was facing in their direction on the Gryffindor table. His subtle movements such as a small smirk here and a narrowing of the eyes there was enough to inspire fear in the four that were stealing Luna's clothes. After an entertaining dinner full of raucous laughter and scowling at the Ravenclaws, Harry and Neville separated at the door to their dorm. Harry went to go to his bed and have a chat with his dad over the current situation with Dumbledore and Lockhart's trials using the communication mirror and Neville gave one sniff of his arms, nearly overwhelmed with the smell of salt. He went off to get a lengthy, steaming shower to calm his anger and abate the smell of the ocean. Relaxing under the ministrations of the hot water droplets, he washed his hair and thought about his time in the herbology greenhouses. Not about the plants, no. About his partner in the tasks at hand, Hannah Abbott. As he drifted off to sleep in his four-poster bed, only ten minutes later, his thoughts were focussed on one blonde witch.

When Zoe woke on Sunday morning, she felt ready for the quidditch training drills that Oliver had set up for today. A few laps around the field were easy, catching a quaffle whilst doing said laps was doable, but dodging two bludgers from the Weasley twins, whilst passing and catching the quaffle was another story entirely. Then again, another minute spent in the library with Hermione tearing her hair out over the species of the monster of Slytherin would be less fun than getting iron balls with minds of their own pelted at her by two fun-loving pranksters who knew no discernable line in their jokes. As she meandered down to the quidditch pitch with Angelina Johnson and Katie Bell, Draco Malfoy was walking back from the pitch, seemingly holding his broom, a Nimbus 2001 in his grasp, a trademark sneer on his face. "So, your brother hasn't managed to catch you and turn you into stone yet, has he? Pity. Could have used you off the field in that last match, too distracting for me to focus on the snitch." Katie gawked at his gall to say something so degrading and rude, but Zoe stood still, boring into his eyes that slowly turned from gloating and admiring to zipping around and forming sweat underneath them. She smirked as he made to walk away. "Not used to that Draco. Girls disobeying you and standing up to pompous arses? Thought not, Parkinson doesn't seem like much of an independent girl now, does she?" Malfoy fumed and flipped his cloak around, huffing his way back to the castle. Angelina smiled and held her hand up. Zoe met it in a high-five and did the same for Katie, who was incredibly impressed by her teammate. "Come on, let's go. Oliver will have our heads if we're late again. Don't want to be on the wrong side of him in a fume." Sniggering to themselves, the three girls ran the rest of the way down to the pitch, where an annoyed Oliver Wood barked out their lateness in seconds.

Hermione was in the library, doing more research into the monster that was roaming the castle with an almost ferocious attitude. The page she was currently on was on the abilities of the Greek myth Medusa. The answer was just a few pages away, she could feel it and she was correct. The next page was the entry in the book of dark creatures that was centred around the Basilisk. The ancient creatures were said to be extinct for long by now because of their dangerous and threatening nature. 'Anyone who looks upon the Basilisk's glare will be immediately eradicated by the beast, but indirectly meet its gaze and one will be petrified, turned as rigid and as cold as a stone, whilst keeping the soul intact and the body preserved. The king of the serpents would make more than humans quiver, as the arachnids, namely spiders and acromantula flee before it.' Hermione had finished reading all she needed and had copied the page of the book with a geminio charm, before writing a note to herself: 'Pipes' to explain the travel of the gargantuan beast. She left the Library, eager to get to Harry and Neville to tell them the good news. Looking around a corner to the entrance hall with a hand mirror, Hermione seized up and fell with a small thump to the floor. She could see her assailant, the basilisk itself as it slithered away.

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BOOM! You thought because this is Harmony that Hermione wouldn't get caught by the Basilisk. Nope. Totally wrong. Though I pondered on it for a short while, I decided that in the end, she would still have to be petrified, as she would basically kick the Basilisk's ass into the next century by having Harry use Parseltongue or finding some way to weaponise a rooster.

Is this chapter basically filler bar the last paragraph? Yes. Should i be ashamed? Probably. Am I? No. I think that the development of Harry and Hermione's maturity and relationship needed this chapter. Plus, I think we all need a bit of Luna's lightheartedness now. Am I wrong? I actually like doing these types of chapters, more character development in a shorter amount of time. **The majority of the last paragraph was taken and modified from my other story, Deserter. **

Will Draco think about what Zoe said and strive to better himself past misogynistic and downright dreadful? Nope, not yet. Will Neville stop smelling of salt and finally ask Hannah out? Most likely. Will Harry keep his promise to Hermione? Wait. And. See. ;)

Stay Safe

-E


	23. Chapter 23 : Regret

I don't own the story or the characters of Harry Potter, this work is entirely fan-made. The rights to everything Harry Potter belong to J.K Rowling. Some noticeable sections are from 'Lord of the Rings' by J.R.R Tolkien, which again, I do not own.

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"Potter, Longbottom, come with me, please! Now!" The Headmistress yelled into the great hall, just as Neville and Harry got up onto the stage to duel each other. Wearing equally worried looks, they clambered off the platform and followed Professor McGonagall from the hall as she led them with a nervous look on her face to the quidditch pitch. When they had reached the grassy pitch, she beckoned down Oliver Wood with a gesture. As he floated down, Harry and Neville gave each other confused looks, sharing the scepticism of the other. "Wood, get Miss Potter down here now, please. It is urgent. And call everyone from the pitch immediately, send them back to their houses now. That includes the prefects. Ah, Miss Potter." The professor barked out as Wood sulked off. At her brother and Neville's mirrored looks of confusion, she narrowed her eyes at McGonagall. "Don't start Miss Potter, I know you would have a match next week, but it will have to be postponed. Come with me, all of you." They followed her without question to the castle and made their way through the winding halls and corridors until they reached the doors to the hospital wing. Harry cocked his head and spoke up, looking at the Headmistress, puzzled as to the absence of Hermione. "Professor, why didn't we go and get Hermione?" She looked down in sorrow and did not make eye contact with her students. Harry knew this telltale sign of guilt. "No. NO! NO!" Harry shouted and pushed the doors open with vigour. There on the far bed in the hospital wing lay Hermione, unmoving and pale on the sheets, stuck in suspended animation.

"You- YOU IDIOT! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS?!" he cried, falling to the floor as both Professor McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey tried to ease him from this state. "Mr Potter, calm down. Please. No-one in here did this. She is just petrified." Neville said something inaudible at first, though on repeat, it made perfect sense. "He isn't angry at anyone in here… except himself. They promised each other that if one of them was petrified or worse by the monster, then the other would not pursue it any further for fear of getting each other hurt." Harry fell to his knees, holding the stone Hermione's hand as he dropped to the floor. Anyone with a heart not made of stone would be tearing up too, as they saw the raw sadness and anger that Harry felt. Just as he went to get up, his eyes started to glow a brilliant green in a fit of accidental magic, likely stemming from the anger he felt at himself. The hospital wing was caught up in a hurricane, with bottles falling off the shelves, beds creaking and the doors flapping in the wind, as if desperate to take flight. McGonagall managed to shout over the din to Madam Pomfrey "GET THE KNOCKOUT DRAUGHT NOW!" The matron rushed into her office, battling the blustery winds and emerging steadily with a pale grey solution that seemed to steam when it was uncorked. She handed it carefully over to the transfiguration teacher, who immediately threw the solution, bottle and all near Harry's feet. The draught floated slowly upwards as the people in the hospital wing desperately tried to stay on their feet and once the scent had reached Harry's nose, his eyes rolled into his head and he fell to the ground.

He awoke hours later with a headache and feeling incredibly hungry. There was an almost burning sensation in his head, that was only overcome by his thoughts of Hermione.

'Hermione!'

He looked around worriedly, attempting to sit up. He found his movement restricted by strands of rope, constraining him to the bed, in a lying position. "I am not bloody crazy, so get me out of these confounded cuffs!" He said loudly, his voice reverberating off the stone ceiling of the hospital wing as he slipped back into his normal voice. Madam Pomfrey was soon on the scene, holding a bright blue potion, one he recognised as a calming draught and a silver one emitting a light vapour. "Right Mr Potter, you cannot have another outburst like that again. _Especially _in here! It nearly drained all of your magical energy off. You aren't invincible you know. That's why you keep ending up in here." She released him from the makeshift handcuffs as he sat up, rubbing his wrists with an unhealthy look of rage decorating his features. Shoving the potions into a stand on the dresser next to him, Madam Pomfrey instructed him to take them before leaving the confines of that bed. "Fine. As soon as I take them, will you let me see Hermione? Please?" He was begging now, letting the potions trickle down his throat and then getting up from the bed as the effects washed over him. "Fine Mr Potter. Just go to dinner on time. I don't want you staying in here all day. I'm sure that Miss Granger wouldn't want you to either." Harry swung his feet over the side of the bed and plodded over to Hermione, with a single tear in his eye. "I made you a promise, Hermione. I don't know if I can keep it. I just hope that you can hear me in there, it's just… It must be so lonely, so terrifying, to have to be like this." He sniffed and wiped his eyes. "As soon as the mandrake restorative draughts are ready, I'm going to be right here, waiting by your side for you. I promise." He held her hand for hours, drifting in and out of consciousness or sanity, whichever came first, though he was always brought back by the feel of her hand, stone as it was, warming his own.

Dinner was strained, at best. The news that Hermione Granger had been petrified was no small piece of gossip. Harry Potter was either heartless for petrifying his girlfriend, or innocent as can be. Another speech from Headmistress McGonagall was given, in light of recent events, as she warned everyone to be alert and strong in the tough times that would lie ahead. As people shot glances at Harry throughout the rest of the week, he was becoming more and more inclined to stop the 'Heir of Slytherin' for daring to even look at Hermione. As he got to Wednesday of the next week, his owl post came bearing a parcel addressed to himself and Hermione. 'Harry, I hope this finds you well and safe, along with Hermione. I saw this in a bookstore in Cardigan weeks ago, when we were on a business trip for the ministry. I thought I remembered Hermione mention it last year and I knew that you would need it now, amongst the 'allegations'. Your mother seemed adamant that I write to you, instead of using the mirror, as I need to 'work on my handwriting'. Utter nonsense, my handwriting is perfect, as you can see here,' Harry rolled his eyes at his father's playful attitude and suddenly realised that he hadn't told the Grangers or even his own parents about Hermione's current state, as he was all washed up in his sorrow. Looking back to the letter, he saw a few more needless points about handwriting and got a very interesting detail that managed to brighten his day slightly. 'Lockhart's trial is going to be during the holidays, so that both Hermione and Zoe can provide evidence, along with Cho Chang and some of the others who were confunded. Hang in there, it will all be over soon. -Dad P.S, hand the letter to Zoe would you?' He passed the letter from his father to Zoe, who read it as Harry opened the parcel that was secured to the letter.

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"Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky, Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone, Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die, One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne," Harry began the novel, one that his mother assured him was a brilliant one in a series of three. "In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie. One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them. In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie." Harry sighed, looking into Hermione's eyes, the unseeing brown iris' that threatened to drive him into madness. "If only we could escape too. Be free from this and be together again. I'm sorry Hermione." He continued to read to her for hours on end, until Neville tapped him on the shoulder to break him free from the literary grasp of J.R.R Tolkien and take him to the common room, with a sad smile. "She isn't going anywhere, she will still be here, when you wake up. Come on, let's get you to bed."

His days of reading to Hermione were limited, as he had to start to revise and practice for exams again. Neville had to drag him to the Duelling club on the following Sunday to take his mind off Hermione and Gandalf. "It'll be good to take some time off from work and reading for a bit." He would keep saying, though Harry's mind still wandered to the beautiful bushy-haired bookworm lying unfairly frozen on the hospital bed. He relented to his brother with a sigh and took the next turn duelling the current champion of the club, Draco Malfoy. With a sneer, Draco got into his duelling stance, one that Snape had certainly not taught the rest of the students there or even in Defence. Upon further inspection, it would seem to be an offensive stance, one used by many duelling master and champions throughout history. Harry took his own, and they marched away from each other, passiveness still the prevailing emotion in his stare at his rival. He heard Professor Snape count down as the two glared at each other. "Three!" he said, just as Draco unleashed a flurry of jinxes and some hexes towards his opponent with a trademark sneer of superiority.

"Finite Incantatem." Harry drew his wand back and made a shape of a crescent moon with his wand. The white glow enveloped all of Malfoy's curses except for one, that straggler being dodged as it slammed into the shielding magical cage. "What's that supposed to do Potter? You can't damage me like that, it doesn't make sense. Though I suppose with your little muggle-born pet encased in stone, you can't use her magical knowledge as a crutch anymore." Harry registered the comment and his nostrils flared, though he didn't retaliate with force. He stayed calm and collected as he jettisoned multiple spells at different stages of speed. "Mimblewimble, Immobulus, Everte Statum, Expelliarmus." He said as Malfoy struggled to keep up with the torrent of standard spells. The last two spells found their blond mark in Draco's face as the boy was pushed off the stage and into the shield, flopping down onto the fabric again. "You'll pay for that. You dare insult my honour by using simple spells. Fight me you coward! Incendio Duo!" The boy lashed out and shot a form of the fire making spell at him, undoubtedly taught to him by his father, a known dark arts supporter and practitioner. Harry was about to walk off stage as the blond boy used the dual flame conjuring spell, though he still managed to react in time. Harry fumed and drew his hand toward the curse and controlled it with a shield charm applied to his hand, batting it back towards the Slytherin assailant. The sneer left Draco's face as his robe sleeve caught fire with green flames, making him squeal in agony, though his robes stopped most of the damage.

Snape cancelled the shielding cage spell and rushed to his house member's aid, quenching the fire with aguamenti, before using a light freezing charm as an ice pack. He growled something quietly to Draco and then raised his voice again. "Potter, I know you could have dispelled that curse, so 10 points from Gryffindor for not doing so. Malfoy, 10 points from Slytherin and detention with me tonight in the defence room for using a dual flame spell. You know how much damage that could have caused. The rest of you, take heed. Any more foolish attempts at unearned revenge will be met with swift action. Do I make myself **clear**?!" The rest of them nodded as Malfoy was taken to the hospital wing and Harry left the stage to see Neville. "For what it's worth mate, it was pretty damn good magic. Even Malfoy could have seen that." He said to Harry as a means of consoling him. Harry heard another voice come from the opposite side of the duelling platform that was whispering loudly to Seamus Finnigan. "He's gone bloody mental, he has. Lost it. Especially after the bookworm got frozen." Harry wheeled around and levelled his wand at Ronald Weasley's mouth. "Oscausi. Learn to keep that trap shut in future, Weasley." With a sudden movement, Ron had his mouth sealed shut, covered as if he was born with skin in place of lips. Seamus called out to Professor Snape as Ron tried to scream at Harry. "An improvement I should say. Shame it can't last." He flicked his wand at Ron's face, which seemed to grow lips in a very unflattering way.

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I had lots of fun writing this chapter, though it pains me to not have Hermione around.

**Yes I used the excellent work of J.R.R Tolkien in this chapter. You have to have been living under a rock with no ears, eyes or internet connection for the last five decades at least to have not read The Lord of the Rings or the Hobbit. That said, I am going to be using literature from my own personal experiences in these fics, though I have to iterate and will probably have to re-iterate that I don't own these books, or any form of media in these stories. I just play in other people's sandboxes. **

Stay Safe

-E


	24. Chapter 24 : Damning Evidence

I don't own the story or the characters of Harry Potter, this work is entirely fan-made. The rights to everything Harry Potter belong to J.K Rowling. Some noticeable sections are from 'Lord of the Rings' by J.R.R Tolkien, which again, I do not own.

Hope you are all staying safe and sensitive to others still. I happen to be still in 'lockdown' so I can still write for this story.

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Harry was not used to the severe whiplash that the next few weeks brought him. People had gone from downright fearing his presence, to providing mild condolences for Hermione's petrification. Though she wasn't dead, one visiting the castle who was unaware of Harry's affections might have thought so. Not having her around was like a stake through the heart for him. He missed her small bouts of giggles when someone said something remotely suggestive, he missed her bright attitude and even her berating after a while. He still read to her petrified form, willing for her to break free of the enchantment, though she would never give any indication of whether she could hear him. "O! Wanderers in the shadowed land, despair not! For though dark they stand, all woods there be must end at last, and see the open sun go past: the setting sun, the rising sun, the day's end, or the day begun, for east or west all woods must fail…" Harry read out the song, as dull as it was printed. "Fail. Yeah, me too, Frodo. We are both failing at keeping our spirits high." Harry would continue to read until he fell to sleep in the chair next to Hermione's bed. The book still propped open, dropped to his knee and lay open, displaying Harry's effort to keep them both sane.

"So, if we altered the spell, we would get the properties of different metals?" Harry asked Zoe as they sat at the table in the corner of the common room, wearily going over the properties of Transfiguration in forms such as Vera Verto. She nodded and yawned, eager to get the night's revision over and done with. Neville had fallen to sleep with a book on potions ingredients resting on his forehead, dozing off under the watch of Harry and Zoe, who were going to do more revision in Hermione's absence. Harry dropped to the table, letting her know that they were done for the night. Hermione would have stayed up later, to the point where Harry would have had to pull her from her textbook. Zoe clapped and let the two boys know that she was going to bed and that they should too if they wanted to be awake to see Hermione in the morning. As soon as she said Hermione, Harry bolted up the stairs and could be found only 7 minutes later with his curtains drawn around his sleeping self. Before he drifted off, he exclaimed to no-one in particular "I'm coming for you Slytherin's Heir. You'll regret the day you messed with _my_ Hermione."

Waking on Saturday morning, Harry was eager to get to see Hermione again, before he realised that he needed to see someone else first. He got dressed, hastily took a slice of buttered toast from the breakfast table, noting two absences from the hall and ran off in the direction of the greenhouses. As he entered greenhouse two and looked around, he smiled upon seeing Neville and Hannah Abbott, happily watering the mandrakes together, with their hands intertwined on the handle of the watering can. Not wanting to bother the happy pair, he tried to sneak out and ask later, after he had been to see Hermione. However, before his foot passed over the threshold of the greenhouse, Harry winced upon hearing Neville. "Thought you could sneak away, did you? I know why you're here. I'm sorry… but they aren't ready yet. They won't be until two days before exams start." Neville knew how hard it was for Harry to hear those words, as they meant that Harry would not see Hermione moving again for another month at best. It would also mean that Hermione would likely not be able to compete with the rest of them in the exams. "Thanks anyway, Neville. Oh, Hannah, feel free to let yourself into our group with Neville now. We trust you fully, besides you two are dating, are you not?" He ducked out before Neville could catch him and take a swing for his arm, unknowingly leaving the two blushing deep pink.

Harry shook his head at Hannah and Neville, reminding himself of how he and Hermione first were around each other when they had started dating at the end of their first year at Hogwarts. Nervous, little wrecks that got into trouble constantly. 'Now look at us,' he thought in anger 'I can't even protect her properly. Why should I deserve her?' He felt the bag at his hip, swinging with each step he took as The Fellowship of the Ring jostled about inside the leather satchel. He stopped moving when he came to the doors of the hospital wing and did the breathing exercises that he was told to do to keep his emotional outbursts of magic in check. Madam Pomfrey smiled warmly at him as he moved towards Hermione's bed; she knew not to bother him when he was reading to her. 'Sweet lad, reminds me of his parents.' She often thought when the two were together. Harry settled into his usual seat, one that was still as cold as Hermione's touch. "I miss you, Hermione. I miss you so much. I just wish you could be back with me, studying, shouting at me for not studying, reading in the common room, watching Zoe's quidditch matches with you huddled under my cloak." He smiled at the pleasant memories. "Well, I'll just start reading now. Uh- yes, page 106." He groaned with a small smile. "Another song too. You know I'm only doing this because there's a chance you can't hear me.

_Farewell, we call to hearth and hall, _

_Though wind may blow and rain may fall, _

_We must away ere break of day _

_Far over wood and mountain tall._

_To Rivendell, where elves yet dwell,_

_In glades beneath the misty fell _

_Through moor and waste, we ride in haste _

_And whither then we cannot tell._

_With foes ahead, behind us dread,_

_Beneath the sky shall be our bed_

_Until at last our toil be passed,_

_Our journey done, our errand sped._

_We Must Away! We Must Away!_

_We Ride Before the Break of Day!" _

" 'Very good!' said Frodo." Harry continued as if he hadn't just been singing to his comatose girlfriend. What Harry didn't know, was that they weren't alone. Madam Pomfrey smiled and went back into her office to have a gossip with Professor McGonagall over the floo network.

As Harry went to grasp Hermione's hand before leaving at Madam Pomfrey's order, he noticed a strange lump in Hermione's pocket. Staring quizzically at it, he tugged at the end of the strange object. It was a balled-up piece of parchment, though not a normal one from school. Unfolding it and smoothing out the wrinkles, careful not to tear or damage it, Harry didn't recognise the handwriting, it certainly wasn't Hermione's beautifully neat penmanship, nor was it from anyone he recognised. That was until he scanned to the bottom of the brown paper, where he found a note, if one could call it that. It read simply: _Pipes_ in a way that indicated urgency through the messy scrawl, more like Harry's own handwriting than Hermione's swift lettering and the long scratch of a line underneath the word. Narrowing his eyes and cocking his head in confusion, he looked at Hermione's stiff body and asked to possibly unhearing ears "Why did you write this?" He looked into her eyes, a semi-difficult task to do, as meeting her gaze would mean sticking to the roof and asked the question in his mind. Thinking of her reaction if she was awake, he decided the best course of action was to read the page the message was written on.

_'Anyone who looks upon the Basilisk's glare will be immediately eradicated by the beast, but indirectly meet its gaze and one will be petrified, turned as rigid and as cold as a stone, whilst keeping the soul intact and the body preserved. The king of the serpents would make more than humans quiver, as the arachnids, namely spiders and acromantula flee before it. The Basilisk is rumoured to be an extinct species, though many wizards and witches have tried to replicate one, only to be destroyed by their own creation. A full-grown serpent of this calibre can reach up to a record 50 feet, though if they have enough prey, it could be more, should one still exist. A scarlet plume would be found on the male's head and none would be seen on a female. The breeding of such a beast is outlawed in most countries and will be,' _ The page ended as Harry's eyes widened like dinner plates. "Thank you, Hermione. I will see you soon. I promise." He placed a kiss on her forehead and picked up the book from the dresser, sliding it into his bag and slinging that over his shoulder. Leaving the hospital wing, he waved goodbye to Madam Pomfrey and Cho, the latter waving back from her bed and the former nodding in acknowledgement. As he ran to find Neville amongst the stares of gawking students and the occasional reprimanding teacher, Harry hummed the tune he had developed for the song he had read to Hermione only an hour or so prior.

'At last' Harry thought as he found Neville and Hannah huddled in a corner of the library, surreptitiously holding hands and reading through a book on plants native to humid areas. "Hey, you two." He waved to them and made sure to keep his voice low, as even though Madam Pince liked Hermione and was fairly decent to him, he didn't want to push his luck with the almost copy of Madam Pomfrey. As they walked over, they let go of each other's hands and a glow seemed to leave them, making Harry shake his head again at their embarrassment. "What is it, Harry? You seem quite sad. Oh, you just went to see Hermione didn't you?" Hannah said, giving Harry an apologetic look. He waved it off, saying that it wasn't the reason for his glumness. "When I was about to leave her, I saw a note in her pocket. I know it isn't proper to look through a lady's things, especially when they are unaware, but I thought it might have been something important. Anyway, it looks like that mirror was not the only thing with Hermione when she was… found." He passed them the note and they looked over it, eyes skimming the lines in unison like a practised act. Hannah gasped at the end, Harry assumed she had read the 'pipes' line, but Neville's look was a carbon copy of his own as he saw those five letters. "What does that last bit, mean, and why did Hermione write it in a part of a library book?" Madam Pince was nearly upon them and they didn't want to be banned from Hermione's sacred area, so they packed up their books, quills and ink, making their way to the exit. "Let's go to the meeting place, we can assemble the rest of the society there." Harry proposed, letting the two catch up with his quick pace.

With one quick charm change on the fake black coins that Hermione had given out before she was attacked, the Rogue society had been called upon, and most had arrived together, apparently leaving Tracey and Daphne to be the last ones through the door. As they entered, looking slightly dishevelled, Harry beckoned them to the table, eager to inform and ready to hunt. "Right, now that we are all here, you must know that tomorrow, we go after the perpetrator of the petrifications." Some gasps arose from the crowd but were immediately silenced by the screech of wooden chair legs on stone as Neville got up and stood beside Harry. He spoke with a tone that indicated some fear, yet also some devotion. "We have received a note, one coming from Hermione, one we assume was written on the day she was… frozen. It states that the monster is… a Basilisk." Again quelling the murmurs of fear and adrenaline, so put up a hand and let Harry continue. "Hermione gave us answers to a lot of questions. It had been moving about using the plumbing, the pipes and has been very fortunate to not see anyone's eyes directly. If they had been unlucky, we would have… they wouldn't be able to be restored. Now we have a fighting chance at taking down the person responsible. A Basilisk responds to a parselmouth, so it seems that it has been petrifying or attempting to kill on the commands of another with parseltongue. I can use my own abilities to subdue it, once we get to it. I have talked to the phantom of the last victim of the beast, and we are certain that the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets is in the second-floor girl's bathroom. Neville, Hannah and I have come up with a plan, that we need all of your support in. We are going to take down the Heir of Slytherin."

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My introduction of the black coins are like the protean charmed ones that Hermione makes in OOtP, and are purely for convenience.

So, we enter the Endgame, for this year. The next three chapters will be the finale for Second-Year and I am so excited to share them with you all.

My inclusion of the Lord of the Rings books is purely for my nostalgic preference. However, I think that little song that Harry sung could have a place meaning something in the later stories.

Stay Safe

-E


	25. Chapter 25 : No Turning Back

I don't own the story or the characters of Harry Potter, this work is entirely fan-made. The rights to everything Harry Potter belong to J.K Rowling. Some noticeable sections are from 'Lord of the Rings' by J.R.R Tolkien, which again, I do not own.

Right, so a little information that is needed: I upload once every week, normally on a Monday where I live, and after a full story is completed I take a short break. I prewrite to the point that I am already a good few chapters into the sequel to this, so there is nothing to worry about in terms of upload availability. However, there could be occasions, like this coming week where I will not be able to upload on time for one reason or another. That is why this is going up Today instead of tomorrow.

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"Alexander, you know your post, now get to it. Daphne, Tracy, try to refrain from moving away from each other and your position by the library. We need believable and reliable cover stories too, so I hope you all have an idea for yourself. Neville," he said, effectively dismissing the rest to bed, as he had asked to be alone. "Are you sure about this? You could get seriously injured here, there isn't any room for error. That is why Hannah is not coming with us, and Hermione wouldn't be if she were able to move. We need to do this, but not to the detriment of your health." At Neville's slightly fearful look Harry found his supposed answer. "I can do this, I just have to speak parseltongue. How many parselmouths do you think the Ministry has at its disposal, given their views on every other wizarding minority? It isn't like we could trust the Ministry with this anyway. They are too deep in Dumbledore's pocket, though we might be able to get the DMLE to help." The nervous boy looked at Harry with a brave face and shook his head, defying his brother. "No, you aren't doing this alone. There could be a powerful wizard or witch controlling that thing, and if push comes to shove, they are going to have to face the wrath of the duelling devils." He smirked in excitement, though Harry looked hesitant. "You don't need to worry about me, as I don't need to worry about you. We can handle ourselves. Though we should still get the MLE and the DRCMC involved. They live to deal with special cases like this, don't they?" They laughed it off, needing the lightheartedness to counteract the dangerous ideas they had planned for tomorrow night.

Every member of the Rogue Society had agreed to help with the plan, most being lookouts for any students or teachers straying too far towards the bathroom. Harry looked thoughtful as he got dressed and was about to head down for a late breakfast when Neville grabbed his shoulder, an obvious indication that he wanted to talk. "We don't have to do this entirely by ourselves you know. If we inform Madam Bones and get Master Prickle involved via owl or some such method, we could wipe out the need for us to get too close. I just don't want anyone to lose their brother, their sister, or their son or daughter, or their boyfriend. I don't want anyone to lose any of us. Zoe would say the same, though she hasn't had the chance to say it yet. Plus, I think that you need to talk to someone other than me about your protectivity issues. Hermione and Hannah are their own people capable of following us without coercion. They do that because they care. " At Harry's warning look, one he shot off before he got too pissed at anyone, Neville relented after one more try. "Just mirror call Sirius and your father, and they can get the right people at the Ministry involved. We need all the help we can get." Seeing the look on his brother's face, a pleading one, Harry thought about it. He was contemplating throughout breakfast, weighing the benefits that could be gained with the help of some trusting adults. Anyone with working retinas could see that Harry was deep in thought, and in brooding mode, so they kept a good distance from him, as long as they weren't named Neville Longbottom or Zoe Potter.

Harry and Neville were two entirely separate minds when it came to the approach of the people joining them. Whereas Harry wanted to avoid the least number of casualties and forget about his own safety in the face of danger, Neville was keen to get as much help in the chamber as possible, though their argument was stopped briefly when they visited the girl's bathroom that they were confident hid the chamber. Harry was much more confident now, as he got closer to redeeming himself in the eyes of Hogwart's students and staff and his tone certainly presented it. "Myrtle, can you tell us how you died? We need the information to stop more people from dying in the same way." Harry was asking, however, his tone made the sentence sound like a threatening order. The ghostly girl squealed, floating down to Harry from the window sill and hovered on the stone floor, in front of the two boys. "Just because it's you, Harry, I shall tell you. I came in here, crying after Olive Hornby said some horrible things about me and went into that stall right over there." She moaned while pointing to an area in the bathroom. "Then, when I heard a funny sound coming from outside, I told them to go away, but then I realised it was a boy's voice. So, I shouted at them to leave after opening the door. Then I saw a great big pair of yellow eyes, over by that sink," she pointed at a set of sinks that looked normal enough for a bathroom. "Then I died." She wailed again and fled back down the toilet pipe, making water gush all over the floor by a stall. "Let's check out the sink then. A good place to start." Neville grimaced, as they turned to face the ring of taps. After inspecting each one, they found the one facing the high window, engraved with a snake on the side of the neck of the tap. Harry tried rubbing it to feel for anything else, or perhaps trigger the chamber to open. "Wait, Harry. If the Heir of Slytherin and Salazar himself was a parselmouth, then maybe the chamber is opened by using the same method to control the snake. Say something in parseltongue!" Neville eagerly said, waiting on the reaction from Harry. Harry hissed a deep throaty sound and said "_Open!_" as the sink slid down under the floor, to be replaced by a metal grate.

With their new-found discovery fresh in their minds, the two Gryffindors headed off to lunch, thinking it would be another meal of Professor McGonagall reassuring everyone that they would be ok. Though, when they arrived at the Great Hall, it was already in a buzz over one staffing addition. Sat at the Head table, talking avidly with Professor Flitwick, was Remus Lupin. As lunch progressed, the entire population of Hogwarts slowly filtered into the massive room, each one as shocked as the last that another teacher or member of staff was joining this late into the educational year. With a small clink of a glass, Headmistress McGonagall was immediately the centre of attention, holding every student's gaze with a small gesture. "I am sure you would all like to know about the recent staffing addition in the form of Mr Lupin." She said as a wave of whispers washed over the students. Another clink amplified by a charm silenced them again. "He will be helping Professor Snape teach Defence as it is clear that your exams are nearing their start. He shall also be chaperoning the duelling club from this point on, whether or not he stays on as a teacher for next term. Please give him a warm welcome back to Hogwarts." His standing up was met with applause, mainly from the Gryffindor table and three very enthusiastic second-years. Though he was excited to see his Uncle again, Harry scowled internally, knowing that this was also a ploy by McGonagall to keep an eye on him in his time of suffering, making sure that he didn't do anything reckless like going after the person who petrified his girlfriend.

As the pupils of Hogwarts left the hall at two o'clock, Harry was fervently trying to push past the throng of people also going back to their Sundays, but found the task difficult, as Zoe was dragging him back to see Remus, knowing that he had to keep up appearances. "Ah, Neville, Zoe, Harry, good to see you behaving." He said, with glee, but shooting a suspicious glare at Harry. "So, where were you off to in such a hurry, nephew?" He questioned, unknowingly asking that of one the best self-taught liars in the history of Hogwarts. As Harry replied, he put on his best desperately sad face and wrenched his hand from his sister's grip. "I wanted to go and see Hermione. Or did you not hear from Sirius the condition that has befallen my beloved." He used the words that his father had taught him to use when in a polite, public conversation with his elders. "No, I have been away since the last full moon and haven't had time to catch up with Sirius yet." His eyes told the lycanthrope that Harry was not be messed with when it came to seeing Hermione, so he let the matter go, needing to oversee the duelling club. "Neville, I trust I will see you in the duelling club in a moment?" He asked the nervous boy. He nodded and smiled faintly, giving Harry and Zoe a slight nudge with his shoulder, passing the sudden movement off as a cough. "Very well, I shall see you all soon, and Neville, I do hope to see the famous duelling devils soon, as Professor Flitwick called you two." He walked off after gesturing to Harry and Neville, apparently unaware of the new plan between the three. "Change of plans, we are moving the schedule back, to after the duelling club is over for today. It remains the same aside from the timing. We all know what to do." Zoe and Neville nodded at Harry's determined words, as he now wandered off to the common room to pick up the book and his Invisibility cloak, also using the time to update the message coins.

"' The vision melted into waking; and there was Tom, whistling like a tree-full of birds; and the sun was already slanting down the hill and through the open window. '" Harry read as he started to get lost in Middle-Earth again, mainly to distract himself from the daunting task ahead. If Hermione could hear him, see him, she still did not show it, though it was unlikely that she could. Harry's eyes passed over each line, speaking loud and clear the words that he and Hermione had hopefully listened to, as each sound came through his lips. He registered the words less and less with each syllable that passed over his tongue, revelling in the choice he would make tonight. Harry put the brilliant novel down and made sure that he remembered the words he had read not twenty-four hours ago.

"_Until at last, our toil be passed,_

_Our journey done, our errand sped."_

"Will our Journey ever be done, Hermione? I hope so. I hope that we can have peace for once. Until then, I must break one more promise. If I don't come back, know that I will always love you. I will always cherish the time we spent with such little emphasis on us, and only us." Harry kissed her forehead, his lips appearing to ghost over hers for a moment afterwards, but leant back before he broke himself, and another promise.

"So, let's go. Did you mirror call Sirius, Zoe?" She nodded at his question before saying "Amelia Bones was there and they said they were getting their most trusted Aurors and the people on the magical creature control force to come with them. We can still turn back now, you know, if you want. Hermione will kill you too, whether we make it out or not. Mum and Dad will probably string us up by the ankles, Uncle Moony will hate himself forever for not seeing past your admittedly good lie. Neville's Grandmother will likely get to us as all as well." She joked, lightening the mood slightly as they waited for Neville to arrive with the others getting into positions. "Well, the consequences we will have to deal with, unfortunately. Though, I can say that we deserve most of what will come. I just hope that it pays off and we can put an end to the beast that nearly took Hermione from me." Zoe peered at Harry through his glasses and sighed, smiling as she thought of the best way to put her next words. "Harry, when we get out of that Chamber, and Hermione is awake again, I want you to think, very hard about what you want for your future with her. I wasn't ever, hoping for you to hear this from me… but Dad _had_ a blank betrothal contract set up for you, to any Pureblood, as was his father's wish for the Potter family, for you to bring the family back into the Pureblood world. He cancelled it as soon as you and Hermione revealed that you were dating at the start of summer. He might have been onto something. I do believe that in the future, you and Hermione will lead a happy life together, continuing the line of Potter. I don't know if I will have kids at all, I don't have or need anyone yet, so there is still time, but you have to start a family, for your happiness, with Hermione. Despite what you might think, I fully support you both in it. Just don't make me an Auntie before I turn seventeen, please?" She smiled as Neville bounded around the corner with a splutter. "Lupin was onto me I think. If we're doing this today, we have to go now!"

They rounded the final corner to the bathroom… but came upon a seemingly **final **message to Hogwarts.

_GINNY WEASLEY WILL LIE IN THE CHAMBER FOREVER_

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Quick music recommendation: watch?v=jRcJp1i4Emo

That is an edit of 'Avatar's Love' from 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' done by Samuel Kim Music. Brilliantly done and good for one piece of this chapter. The line starting '"Will our Journey ever be done"' I think fits with the music quite well as an emotional 'goodbye'. (Yes I'm still hooked on ATLA as I was several weeks ago. Watch it!)

Finale in the next two chapters, so buckle up for the end of year two.

Stay Safe

-E


	26. Chapter 26 : The Chamber of Secrets

I don't own the story or the characters of Harry Potter, this work is entirely fan-made. The rights to everything Harry Potter belong to J.K Rowling. Some noticeable sections are from 'Lord of the Rings' by J.R.R Tolkien, which again, I do not own.

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"This doesn't change our plans, nor does it accelerate them. We still have a chance of getting Ginny back _alive_ if we stay calm and don't let the Ministry get in our way. That means no more shenanigans or time-wasting. We have to move, now!" Harry barked out as he ushered Neville and Zoe into the bathroom, hastily closing the doors. "Triple locking charm, now!" All three unleashed cries of "Colloportus!" and sealed the door shut with a loud squelching sound. Harry analysed the integrity of the door and made a quick judgement. "That won't hold against a prolonged barrage of any spell, so we have to get down there now." Harry hissed menacingly and opened the entrance to the chamber. "I'm going down first, then you two follow when I have a cushioning charm down." At Zoe and Neville's confused looks that he knew so much about the chamber already, he quickly explained. "Ok, so I already went down to check once and found the actual door to the inner chamber. We'll argue later, let's do this!" He jumped down the pipe with a moments notice and a final order for the door to the chamber: _"Stay open!"_. He hurtled through the dingy tunnels and slid down onto the vaguely familiar stone floor, covered in mildew and moss. The floor had been covered to the final inch with bones, waste and a disturbing amount of faecal matter, though Harry had made sure to clean the whole path to the inner chamber to avoid tripping and other distractions. "Alright, come on down now!" He shouted up the slippery pipe as he added several cushioning charms to the stone that they would land on, hopefully softening their fall, though a sore arse would be the least of their concerns if they were unlucky. He could hear the two of them scream in either fear or excitement at the ride as they came down, landing with a soft thump at the bottom, at Harry's feet.

He pulled Zoe to her feet in a gesture of chivalry, though she scowled at the help, muttering something under breath that sounded suspiciously like "Bloody boys," Harry gave her a small smirk and started to lead them through the tunnels and winding catacombs. "Harry," Zoe spoke softly into the darkness, in Harry's general direction, if his Lumos spell was anything to go by "are there skeletons down here? Do you think that it has actually eaten anything in the past century?" Harry stopped and whirled around, pointing his wand in her direction "Do not feel sorry for this thing. It nearly killed Hermione… and those others. It's on my head. If I had realised sooner that the monster was a serpent, I could have ended this whole thing long ago. Hermione would be able to hear me when I read to her, sang to her, told her I loved her as I broke my promise." He shifted back and turned to walk in the right direction again. His snarl was unkind, harsh and raspy, punctuated with a stifled sob as he said "promise". Neville held her hand as his brother led the way again, brushing unshed tears from his eyes before he showed weakness in the face of danger. "Harry, it's ok to feel sad about her. She isn't gone though, and we will make it back to everyone, and I will let you be the first thing Hermione sees as she wakes up from this bad dream. Not Madam Pomfrey, not your parents, you." That comment was meant as a heartwarming sentiment but only served as a reminder that he had failed to protect the one he loved above all else. "Thanks, mate, but it wouldn't have been any other way if we make it out alive." He sadly said, turning his head back towards the route. He seemed to pause momentarily to look closer at the rock to their right. "Ok, we're at roughly the halfway point. This rock has the shed basilisk skin on it, meaning we aren't that far from the inner chamber now." They heard footsteps behind them, though the echoes suggested that the people were still a minute off from reaching their current location. "I think this is the right tunnel." Harry heard Amelia Bones say.

"Shit! They weren't supposed to get here just yet. We need more time. Neville, you and I, dual disarming charms on that rock, right in the centre." Harry hissed quietly, pointing at a stalactite on the roof of the cave. They both had to whisper the spell, so it was weaker than usual, though that wasn't saying a lot, considering their normal spell power which was beyond that of most fourth years. The red sparks hit their mark and the roof came crashing down, alerting the searching Auror squad to their presence. They had all moved behind the rockfall so that they could continue ahead, leaving the searchers to deal with the many large chunks of rock and calcium deposits in the ceiling. As the three Gryffindors ran ahead, watching their steps with caution, they heard frustrated cries of "Damnit!" and "Bloody Hell!" coming from the Aurors and strangely enough, Professor McGonagall. Neville let out a small bark of laughter at the Scottish Headmistress cursing, knowing that there were others with her that would likely think the same thing as he had. Harry kept a stoic face and Zoe's displayed nervousness, yet was still holding strong under the pressure. After a solid two minutes of careful and painful running, as they slipped several times on moss, Harry, Neville and Zoe came to a large, metal door, inlaid with two intertwined snakes. Their heads bore glistening green emeralds as eyes, which made them seem very strangely alive. "I think I have to use parseltongue to open it again." Harry made the same hissing noises that he had done on the taps at the top of the pipes, commanding the door to open, and making it stay that way once it had creaked aside. As the door swung open with a heave from the boys, all three saw the full majesty of the Chamber of Secrets.

The steps that lead down to the ladder were wet, slippery and felt oddly like seaweed when stepped on, so the three were careful not to lose their balance or grip on each other. The ladder stank of rotten fish and was coated in a slimy substance that none of them even thought of sniffing, for fear of passing out. While Harry and Neville wore looks of pure disgust at the gaudy statues of snakes, Zoe looked at them in awe of the magnificent creature they were modelled after. Fangs that were at least forty centimetres long, eyes, sunken and hollow, yet still radiating intimidation and the texture of tiny scales, ones which would glitter if exposed to any sort of light. They all looked forward at Harry's whisper and saw the bust of Salazar Slytherin, carved into the rock, glittering as if it was seeing sunlight for the first time in decades, though it was just the tacky marble it was made out of. "He really must be overcompensating for something," Harry said as they all shared a moment of quiet laughter.

That feeling disappeared as two figures came into view beneath the light of their wands. Ginny Weasley, lying in a crumpled heap on the dingy floor, hair splayed out like being blasted by the wind. And above her, Tom Riddle, a pale boy, looking sixteen and wearing a simple look of surprise, that vanished as he saw Harry.

"You, you're Tom Riddle aren't you? How? I saw you in that diary looking the same, which was nearly fifty years ago." Harry asked, looking at the pale boy with curiosity. Neville and Zoe rushed over to Ginny, who lay, still with white eyes, nearly devoid of any colour. Tom tilted his head slightly, looking at Harry with the same morbid curiosity that he had shown him. He snapped his head back towards the little girl on the floor, showing no empathy or semblance of emotion towards the dying child. "She won't wake. Her life and her magic are fuelling me. The process is nearly complete. She will soon be nothing more than a cold, dead, emaciated husk of a child. Quite a pity that I couldn't have gotten someone older or more powerful, such as that Mudblood coming back from the library." Harry turned his head and looked the phantom in the eyes, seeing the tiniest twinge of excitement in the dull, blue pupils. "You, you were controlling the snake this entire time. You're the Heir of Slytherin. You tried to take my Hermione from me!" Harry swung for the boy's jaw and was cast back by a shield spell surrounding the forming body. He slid across the floor and landed a foot away, growing angrier by each passing second. Neville checked Ginny's pulse as Zoe got her into a sitting position, though it was a futile effort, as her body was nearing complete rigor mortis in her decaying state. Tom spoke in a cold and icy tone again. "So, you were smart enough to figure out Slytherin's creature. It matter's not. You will die just as painfully, whether you know the fangs that tear you to pieces or not." He turned to the statue and uttered threatening words in parseltongue, as Harry watched on, pulling his wand from his holster on his wrist. "Neville, Zoe, shield charm! Now!" he shouted as the lips of Slytherin began to open, revealing the serpent in the shadows of his mouth. "Let's see you beat this Potter!" Tom called to him, seeming to enjoy taunting a twelve-year-old.

Neville, Zoe and Harry had banded together to use a shield charm to cover Neville and the girls, but Harry was standing out in the open, refusing to go down without first seeing his task through. "I love you, Hermione." He whispered to himself, seeing the long, scaly body of the basilisk slither from its depths in the stone Slytherin's stomach. Tom shouted more orders at the basilisk as Harry hissed out only one. _"Target me, and Riddle, not the other three,"_ Harry ordered. The giant serpent looked sceptically from Tom to Harry, to the huddled group under a shield, and looked as if it was bowing its head to both him and the Slytherin boy. Being the one in its direct line of sight, Harry started to run to an antechamber off to the side but stopped as he heard a shrill song, echoing through the chamber. Harry looked up to see a brilliant red and yellow blur that clawed out the eyes of the basilisk, splattering the stones with dark crimson blood, after dropping a bundle of rags at Neville's feet. "Fawkes?!" Harry shouted, and the bird called off its attack, landing close to Ginny and bending his head over. The shout of Harry's that had been aimed at the phoenix had caught the snake's attention and the giant beast slithered over to the last place it heard something come from. Harry ran out of the way, only to be met with reverberating sounds of footsteps in his wake. Getting back up, Harry sprinted back onto his original path, down the antechamber, praying that Tom would follow the beast into the tunnels. Harry had one backup spell that could come in useful now, one that would only work temporarily, hopefully drawing the Aurors to his location too.

As Neville and Zoe knelt helplessly by Ginny's side, the Phoenix that had claimed the basilisk's eyes flew over to them and nodded his head in sadness. Zoe was able to use her legilimency to tell what it was trying to convey. "Neville, open her mouth," she commanded. Despite his confused look, he did as she said, seeing water droplets trickle into Ginny's mouth. Looking up at the bird, he saw that those weren't drops of water, but phoenix tears, gently cascading down its feathers. The two Gryffindor's gasped and stared, unable to take their eyes off the magical sight. "They can hopefully prolong her life, but she needs to have the soul purge interrupted. I'm pretty sure that's what Fawkes wants. Riddle stood nearby, watching as the creature wept about a stupid girl. "You bore me, there is NOTHING YOU CAN DO! She is as good as gone." He smirked again, doing a near-perfect impersonation of Draco Malfoy. The boy strode off, leaving nothing but the three students, Fawkes and a bundle of cloth in the central chamber. The brown material seemed to be calling to Neville, begging him to pick it up. He wandered over to it, careful not to alert the Slytherin again. "The sorting hat?" he asked himself. It became suddenly heavier as if made of pure steel, so Neville took to shaking it, and feeling inside the cloth. He jumped as he touched a cold, metal handle. Grasping it, he hoisted the Sword of Gryffindor high into the air, lifting it almost as if it was a feather.

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The final chapter in 'The Heir of Slytherin' approaches. Hope you all liked this one, as it and the next chapter are the finale of year two.

Stay Safe

-E


	27. Chapter 27 : Promises Broken

I don't own the story or the characters of Harry Potter, this work is entirely fan-made. The rights to everything Harry Potter belong to J.K Rowling. Some noticeable sections are from 'Lord of the Rings' by J.R.R Tolkien, which again, I do not own. Thank you to everyone who has read this story to this point, even if you did so to clown on it. And a special thanks to reviewer 'fhl1234' for adding both this story and its predecessor to a community of other series'. I have now followed this and have started to read through some of the other stories on there.

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Harry was still running for his life or, walking for his life, as he knew the snake now had to rely only on hearing his footsteps. Finding a dead end, he went to turn back the way he came, only to come face-to-face with the phantom boy, Tom Riddle again. "You are lucky I can't touch you or pick up a wand yet, though when Ginny Weasley is dead, I shall rule Hogwarts and Britain itself with you out of my way!" Tom shouted and Harry knew it would be only a matter of seconds before the giant serpent showed its snout again. Sure enough, when Harry tried to move out of the way, to the next tunnel, the gargantuan beast turned the corner. "Avis," Harry whispered thinking of Fawkes' song from earlier. This spell was brand new to him, being thought of just seconds before the snake was staring him down and tested for the first time in this moment. A flock of large birds erupted from Harry's wand and made the whole chamber fill with sounds of crowing, which made the basilisk turn tail and slither from its position leering over Harry. Tom fumed and marched off, leaving Harry to revel in his short-lived victory.

Upon re-entering the chamber, Harry saw the basilisk trying to penetrate Tom's soul purge shield, to no avail, much to his dismay. Running over to Neville and Zoe, Harry gawked at the massive sword that Neville was holding. "Where did you get that?!" He said, careful not to alert the pre-occupied serpent. "I don't know. I pulled it out from that," he said, pointing at the sorting hat which sat unattended on the stone next to Zoe. Harry looked over affectionately at Fawkes and grabbed the sword, swinging it up high, leaving the two to cradle Ginny, trying to coax her back into consciousness. "I'm going to kill that bloody great snake!" he whispered defiantly to them, walking off towards Salazar Slytherin's head. "Harry, no!" Zoe cried, tears streaming down her face. She attempted in vain to escape from the pre-constructed shield, but he was long gone, already climbing the head. At that point, there came a flurry of screams and voices from the entrance to the inner chamber. The 'rescue party' had arrived. Among the people were Professor McGonagall, Remus Lupin, Amelia Bones and Gethsemane Prickle, head of the Department for the regulation and control of magical creatures, all of whom were left with mouths agape at the size of the basilisk. They shook themselves out of it, the snake seeming to be occupied with a shield around a pale figure, who was holding his own well and ran over to Zoe, Neville and Ginny, Fawkes seemingly gone to help Harry.

"HARRY! GET DOWN! PLEASE!" Remus bellowed, his face paler and looking more deathly ill than ever. He shook his head and started to cry out for his nephew, breaking his stoic façade in two. Minerva looked equally white as a sheet but knelt to help Ginny's evaluation. She pressed her fingers to the girl's neck and cast a diagnosis charm, weaving glowing blue lines over her body. The Headmistress felt momentarily relieved, though looking back up at Harry, who was on top of the bald statue's head, she started to panic again. The Aurors, thoroughly broken from their bewildered state, cast every spell short of the killing curse at the basilisk which had noticed the fresh meat upon its master's stone head. Harry had made everything and everyone else in the room disappear, his sights solely set on the puppet that nearly took Hermione from him. He waved the sword about, making the goblin steel clang against the stone wall and drawing the blind beast's attention for the final time. As the basilisk lunged forward and down, Harry met its speed with the blade of the sword, thrusting it up through the skull and brain, killing the sixty-foot serpent in a single blow.

The blade emerged from the skull of the basilisk, covered in pieces of brain matter and scales, drenching Harry's shoes with scarlet essence of the snake. Harry pulled the hilt back down, removing it from the beast, though his arm had caught a fang, now embedded into his arm. Everyone in the chamber fell silent, including the raging Riddle still recovering from the assault that the previously alive serpent had attempted. Harry started to stumble as the basilisk's body fell from its position at Salazar's head and fell to the floor below, deafening everyone with a sickening crunch. The most skilled at charms in the room and Auror by the name of Shacklebolt levitated the body down from his height and place him gently by Zoe's side, which was covered in tears. "Harry, please? Stay with me, please?!" she cried as Remus held her tightly. He moaned something which was drowned out by the sobbing, so they listened again. "Get, th- the di- diary." Zoe shook her head, asking its importance as Neville brushed away his tears and handed him the black-covered book. Riddle picked that moment to re-emerge from his state of confusion, and screamed "NO! NOT THA-!" he was cut off as Harry plunged the fang, his nearest weapon, straight from his forearm with a wince, into the diary. A sickening scream, not unlike the one Riddle had just shouted himself, was heard, though the sound was amplified by five, making everyone but Ginny cover their ears. In the second that everyone moved their hands to their ears, Riddle exploded in a burst of light, as the diary emitted a jet-black ooze that rolled straight off Harry's hands onto the stone beneath him.

When the light was gone and the ooze dissipated, Harry fell from his sitting position into Zoe's arms and saw a red flash of light as Fawkes the phoenix came to rest on his sister's shoulder. Fat, glistening tears fell onto Harry's puncture wound as he said: "Tell her, Neville, I'm sorry. Please." He tapered off and winced, feeling the tears of the bird wash away the venom and illness in his blood. Neville shrieked in delight and shock, for Harry would be alright, yet Ginny had just awoken from her soul purge coma. "Harry, Neville, Zoe? Headmistress." She questioned quickly before bursting into tears. "I- I didn't- m- mean to-to -do that. I- it was all- Ri- Riddle. He- made- me- me write- th- those messages, I- swear."

"Harry, you tell Hermione yourself m,"- Harry drifted off into the realm of sleep as he heard Hermione's name for what he assumed was the final time.

His dreams were of Hermione, her beautiful eyes, piercing into his soul, the soft, brown, curly tresses that adorned her face. Her voice, calling out to him, crying for him. Then he heard another familiar sound. The song that he had sung to Hermione from The Lord of the Rings was being sung back to him, seemingly by angels, or sirens, beckoning him to come to them.

_Farewell, we call to hearth and hall…_ _In glades beneath the misty fell…_

_Until at last our toil be passed,_

_Our journey done__…__ our errand sped__…_

Harry tried to rise from the cold floor but found nothing except comforting white sheets, a pillow beneath his head and the face of the woman he loved.

"Hermione?" he asked wearily.

"Yes, it's me, Harry. Don't you ever do that again." She said back trying to hold back her tears.

"I'm sorry, I had to break my promises."

Harry woke to cries of jubilation from his parents, sister, brother and Hermione. She stood out as the one he had been doing it all for. His revenge mission, the exposing of Tom Riddle to the authorities, the investigations. Now, he wasn't sure if he had made the right decision, for her. Hermione was awake, sure, though had he gone to the proper people before-hand, he could have avoided so many countless close-calls, for him and the people around him, not only at his bedside but also in the rest of Hogwarts. His mother was the first to hug him, lightly to give his body a chance to rest, then his father, after giving his son the most stern of looks, nearly breaking into hysterics. No-one could blame him; he thought his only son was about to die. Zoe shook her head and cried out to him "You stupid prat! Enough of your heroics! They only make you worse-off!" She hugged him begrudgingly and left him to the mercy of Neville's ribbing and Hermione's well… emotions. After a serious comment from his brother about 'not leaving him alone when he needs a drink in his thirties', Harry was left to Hermione's wrath. The Potters and Neville moved away, to give the two time to speak alone, as they went to Madam Pomfrey's office to chat with McGonagall.

Hermione shook her bushy head of hair at Harry, showing her disapproval, but then latched herself onto him, wrapping her arms around his chest and back. "Before we get onto the real reason I am here now, I just want to tell you how disappointed I am in you. You put yourself, Neville and Zoe, in harms way just to get revenge, for me. You know I wouldn't have wanted revenge, I would have wanted justice." She sniffled into his shoulder as he squeezed tighter, never wanting to let go. "I thought they were one in the same, but now I just don't know anymore. I wasn't sure if you were coming back to me. I couldn't live without you." He mumbled. Hermione pulled away, her tear-matted hair clinging to her face, covering up the lines of sadness cascading down her cheeks. "I heard you, you know. I assume you thought about comas when I got petrified," she said as he nodded along with her logic. "I did hear you, in my sleep. I heard every single word, every syllable, every character. Every tune you sang. I think that was the sweetest, kindest, most wonderful thing anyone has ever done for me. Though I also heard you break another promise. You said you loved me when I wasn't awake." He looked down in shame. "I heard you though. And you kept one, that we made without us knowing. Let me show you what you kept." Hermione brought his head closer to hers and kissed him with the passion, the energy and the love that most married couples could only hope to achieve.

"I love you, Harry Potter."

"I love you too, Hermione Granger. Let's not make promises that we can't keep, to each other again."

The feast that night was extravagant, as was the infernal eruption that happened when Professor McGonagall dropped a bombshell. "All exams are cancelled, due to-!" She was cut off by a deafening din that only subsided after the feast was well and truly over. Hermione inwardly cringed at the revelation, though for fear of being vilified by the rest of the school, kept her displeasure to herself. Harry saw the look in her eyes, one that longed for some homework, or revision, or spell practice and voiced his view on the matter. "Hermione, you were basically frozen in carbonite for over 2 months, with no revision but what I read to you from my homework, yet you still want to give the tests a go?" She blushed sheepishly looking down to her food. "I can revise with you, after all, I'm in detention for a week after locking the girl's bathroom door with the chamber inside it, with me still in the room." He smirked, wincing as Hermione hugged him, making sure not to touch his arm in the sling. "No, I think the exams can wait until next year." The Gryffindor contingent surrounding the two immediately dropped their forks to their plate, praising Harry for getting Hermione to do the impossible.

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Here it is, the end of Year Two. I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did writing it. I will take a short break from uploading for a week or two, then we will start the series back up again.

All reviews are welcome.

Stay Safe

-E


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